Enlisted
by cloudydayswithblindingsun
Summary: Taken from a prompt on tumblr: In a final, desperate attempt to get out of Lima, Quinn enlists in the military. Ultimately, this leads to Rachel realizing she has feelings for her.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Disclaimer: I don't own glee. **

**I saw this prompt on the internet post/29092988507/prompt-quinn-enlists-in-the-military**

**Just change the dots to periods. Anyways it's like two years old but I decided to run with it. I want to continue more but I'd like to hear your thoughts before I do?**

**Oh and AIT stands for Advanced Individual Training. All soldiers go through it for the jobs that they enlist in. I know that basic can last longer than 10 weeks because of in processing but just look past that. The 39 weeks for her AIT is correct too so :)**

**Hope you guys enjoy it!**

"Alright everyone quiet down." Mr. Schues's voice is calm and there's a hint of a smile in it. "I know you're all excited about college and it's been rough waiting to hear back. So I trust that you've all waited to let each other know the exciting news like we talked about?" A collective groan is heard from around the group, Mr. Schuester claps his hands together excitedly. "Excellent! Brittany and Santana! Let's start with you guys. Any news back?"

Brittany immediately begins bouncing in her seat, hand shooting up. "Oh oh pick me Mr. Schue!" He laughs gently at the tall blonde dancer while the group shares a tentative smile. She would definitely be missed.

"Yes Brittany?" He replies happily.

"San and I are going to New York!" She squeals, bouncing into the smiling latina's lap and kissing her cheek proudly. "I'm going to Julliard's school of dance! San is going to NYU for medical school!" She shouts happily and places another kiss, albeit a bit closer to her mouth this time.

Everyone cheers, mixed with cries of "we'll miss you guys!" and "we knew you'd be forever!" Santana finally speaks up. "That's right, my girl has mad dancing skills and ima be a doctor to make sure if she ever gets hurt she gets treated right. Plus you losers may need a second opinion one day." And everyone knows that's as close of a thank you that they'll get from her.

"Well I have to say I'm so proud of you two. You've come so far and it's fantastic that you'll be going together. New York is a big place so it'll be nice to have someone you love with you." Mr. Schue says, holding back his tears of pride. Santana smiles and nods to him, clearly working overtime to keep her emotions in check.

"Alright, Puck what about you?" He directs the attention to the mohawked boy.

Puck smirks while leaning forward, a look of mischief in his eyes. "My pool cleaning business is really taking off. I'm gonna have to hire more help just to get all of these lawns done too. We're expanding and I gotta say, I'm raking in money and cougars all day every day." Finn leans back and high fives Puck, the group shares a collective laugh.

"Just make sure you don't catch anything Puck. I might help you guys but I gots ta make money somehow and you'll be charged extra." Santana pokes at him with a smirk.

"Come on you know you want all up on this!" He throws back.

"I gots my Britt Britts I don't need anyone else." She says flatly, earning herself a kiss and some more cheers.

"Perhaps you should look up the meaning of lesbian in a dictionary Noah." Rachel adds in from the front, next to Finn and Artie.

"Ah Rachel, you've been awfully quiet! What are your plans?"

"Please Mr. Schue we all know little miss diva is going to NYADA. Unlike the rest of us she couldn't help but sing it from the roof tops." Mercedes cuts in. Kurt nods his approval still feeling the sting from his rejection from the school. Rachel look to her left and smiles brightly at them both, and they return it. They had all come a long way from being bitter and constantly making huge fights from small comments.

"While what Mercedes said is true Mr. Schuester, I feel as though I should have a fair opportunity to share my accomplishments and plans as well." Rachel sends him her dazzling smile and the group groans but when she stands putting her hands on her hips and stomping her foot they all break into a laugh. She relaxes and joins in as well.

"Continue before we all die from the suspense." Santana says, earning her a sad look from Brittany.

"San I like Rachel, she's our friend and if we're all going to be living together then-" Santana covers Brittany's mouth with her hand.

"Sorry Berry, looks like the cat's out of the bag." Santana shrugs towards her.

Brittany pries the hand from her mouth, "What cat? Lord Tubbington doesn't like other cats around me, it stresses him and I don't want him to start smoking again."

The group looks on in confusion but Finn shakes his head and turns his attention to Rachel. "Don't you guys like hate each other? How do you expect to live together?" He asks, perplexed.

"Yeah I mean no offense but I think we should start taking bets of when Santana snaps and kills her." Mercedes adds in. Sam turns to her with wide eyes and his mouth hanging open and shakes his head yes. Soon the group is shouting and laughing and conversations break out. All but one person looks like they're actually there, Rachel and Mr. Schue notice. The blonde sitting in front of Santana and Brittany looks miles away.

"Woah woah woah guys! Let's calm down! I'm sure there's a perfectly good reason they're staying together. Rachel please continue." Mr. Schue says once again having to direct their attention.

"Thank you Mr. Schuester. As well as getting into NYADA I have discovered that living in New York in an apartment alone is very challenging. Not just money wise but also people tend to get lonely. It only made sense that I find roommates and although Santana and I have had our differences in the past, we feel that we can get over them and live in harmony together."

"Plus Brittany will be their buffer." Artie stage whispers, receiving a glare from both Rachel and Santana. He sinks lower to avoid their stares.

"Berry isn't so bad once you get past her irritating rants and wardrobe choices." Santana defends.

"I resent that Santana, I'll have you know tha-" Rachel is cut off by Kurt who steps up almost nervously in front of the group and gently takes Rachel's arm and leads her to her seat. She nods sadly and he clears his throat to begin.

"So you all know that I didn't make it into NYADA." He states, looking to his boyfriend, Blaine, who gives him a sad but encouraging smile to continue.

"There's always next year though Kurt!" Rachel yells to him but he holds up his hand.

"I realize that but I've been thinking and just because NYADA isn't possible" He looks to Rachel who is about to open her mouth, "_right now_, doesn't mean that New York has to be a past tense dream for me. Which is why I've decided that I'm still going. Nothing will keep me from my dreams." He finishes proudly.

Everyone explodes all rushing up to hug him and congratulate him on his bravery and strength. Rachel tells him that he must live with them and Santana rolls her eyes but smiles and nods while Brittany squeals once more because now more people can join their extended, long term, slumber party. Everyone quiets down and wanders back to their seats, Mr. Schue steps in front of them again but first pats Kurt firmly on the shoulder, who then turns and gives him a huge hug before returning to his seat.

"That's very exciting news guys! Well where were we? Finn! Where are you off to for school?" Finn snaps his attention to the Mr. Shue and his lopsided grin is on in full force. He shuffles up to the front.

"OSU is giving me a full ride scholarship to play football!" He yells and there is another uproar of cheers and applause. Finn turns and hugs Mr. Shuester firmly. And returns to his seat. "I couldn't have done it without you guys though. Especially you Mr. Shue. I didn't know what I was capable of but you guys believed in me. I owe you guys a lot. Thank you." he says trying to discreetly wipe his eyes.

"Hey man maybe there'll be some cougars there with pools to clean?" Puck asks him and Finn's dopey smile returns full force and they both step over the chairs to hug.

"Okay first congrats Finn and second stop hugging him or I'm going to vomit." Santana smirks and Brittany once again lightly taps her and whispers something in her ear. The Latina flushes "We're happy for you. Seriously, congratulations."

"So happy!" Brittany exclaims and launches herself over the chairs and into his arms. He nods over Brittany's shoulders to Santana and smiles brightly.

"Artie? You must have a bright future ahead?" Mr. Schuester asks as Brittany climbs back to Santana.

"I got into Cal Tech." He says it gingerly like it's not a big deal.

"What?! Arite that's-that's amazing! That's unbelievable!" Mr. Schuester yells looking at him in disbelief.

"Yeah I guess it is." He breaks out into a huge smiles and everyone celebrates and pats his back.

"So Mercedes?" Mr. Schuester is interested to hear her response. Out of everyone she has yet to talk about any colleges that interest her.

"Well Mr. Schue I've been thinking and I've got a cousin in California who is friends with a guy at a record label. I'm gonna head there and see if I can get signed." She says proudly. Kurt is hugging her and telling her she can make it happen. "And if not there are a lot of schools there that would be more than honored to have me." She says in typical diva fashion. Once everyone calms down from the news Sam speaks up.

"My mom and dad both found jobs that are stable and pay well and as tough as it's going to be, leaving my little brother and sister, I know I have to do it. I'm going with Mercedes. She's the love of my life and I can't imagine not being with her for any part of it. There are aww's and they share a kiss that's innocent but starts to get heated. Mr. Shuester gets wide eyes and clears his throat, actively breaking the heavy make out session up.

"What about the Asian duo?" Santana says, earning her a glare from Mike and Tina.

Mike stands, wiping his hands on his jeans in a nervous fashion. "Since Tina is only a Junior we won't get to move together right away." They both look heartbroken and Tina reaches up to take his hand. "But that doesn't mean we won't get to live together, just not yet. I believe in waiting though, especially for someone who means everything to you." His eyes are twinkling with love and unshed emotion. "I'll be going to Harvard to study law." He says it kind of brokenly, everyone can tell it's not what he truly wants. He smiles then though. "I made a deal with my dad though. If I give my all my first year there and absolutely hate it then he'll pay for whatever school I want to go to, and I can study anything I want. But giving it my all means I have to apply myself one-hundred percent. And it means that Tina and I can't be together." Everyone seems a bit taken back by that. Tina wipes at her tears but smiles at him as he pulls her to her feet and stares into her eyes. "But like I said, I believe in waiting." He smiles and tears begin to roll down his face. They hug and everyone gives them a few minutes to talk amongst themselves so they can calm down.

"I think what you're doing is very admirable and strong Mike." Mr. Schuester says with a sad smile.

"Thank you." He says smiling and holding Tina's hand firmly.

Mr. Schuester takes a look around the room and his eyes land on the last person. "Quinn." He smiles but she still is unfocused and seems to be in her own world. He frowns and says her name louder with no response coming back. Everyone turns to look at her and Santana decides to kick the back of her chair.

"Yo Q, you still with us?" Santana says in a voice that most would believe is detached but to a trained ear, can clearly hear the concern.

Quinn snaps out of it and turns to the Latina but there's no anger there, just confusion. "What?"

"Q, Mr. Shue has been trying to get your attention." Santana says, then whispers "Is everything okay?"

Quinn smiles softly, and observes the latina's face. "Do you remember when you, and Britt and me broke into Coach's house?" Quinn asks and everyone gets wide eyed including Brittany and Santana.

"We swore to her we would never talk about it!" The latina hisses.

Quinn rolls her eyes but smiles, continuing. "Do you remember what she said?"

Santana looks around and notices everyone staring, leaning forward and intently listening. She feels uncomfortable under all of the attention. "Coach is crazy, she says weird shit all of the time. I just let it go in one ear and out the other."

Quinn's eye brows scrunch together "After she got done yelling at us and telling us we had to run one hundred miles next week or she'd send us to juvey she said something else. She said no matter what we all always seemed to have each others backs. That no matter what we always seemed to find our way back to each other. I love you San and I love you Brittany." Quinn finished looking to Brittany.

Brittany seemed unfazed and lept up and gathered Quinn in her arms. "I love you too Q!" She yelled and Quinn wrapped her arms tighter around the blonde, breathing in deeply and closing her eyes. She engrained this into her memory. She had to.

Santana was shocked. They only ever said those three words if something was seriously wrong. And they had never said them in front of anyone. Not even Brittany. "Quinn I don't understand..." Santana trailed off as Quinn let Brittany go, who gladly slipped back next to Santana and entwined their fingers.

Quinn nervously found the center of the room and looked to her feet. Taking deep breaths, clearly preparing herself.

Mr Shuester felt himself beginning to become nervous, while Rachel was finding it hard to keep still. She'd never seen the girl like this. No one really had, it was completely out of character.

Quinn looked up and opened her eyes, taking in everyone around her and smiling. She needed to remember this too, soon everyone would be gone and everything would be different. "You all know one of my greatest fears was becoming a Lima loser. I browsed for colleges and I was going to apply for them but something else caught my attention. I have a chance to be great now, to start over new and become a better person. I didn't want to tell everyone like this but I guess it's like a band-aid. I enlisted in the Army. I leave Monday." There was no response, everyone just stared and became very quiet.

Surprisingly it was Rachel who spoke up first. "I-I don't understand Quinn. You're so intelligent! You could go to any school and be anything you want to be! Why the Army?" Rachel was standing now and her hands were in fists. This wasn't how it was supposed to be. Quinn was supposed to come visit her in New York and Rachel was going to visit her somewhere like...Yale! But the Army?

Quinn looked to her with a sad smile before addressing the group. "This is what I want. I signed up about a month ago and I've already talked to my mom, and Principal Figgins says that missing graduation is okay. They'll send my diploma to me. Look guys, you've always encouraged me to be myself so here I am. I'm going after something I want and it's something I have to do alone."

As New Directions starts to recuperate there are several things that happen. Puck just shakes his head at Quinn and holds back tears but walks up to her and hugs her. "You'll do great baby mama." Is whispered delicately into her ear. Mercedes and Kurt followed by Blaine join the hug and ask her if she's certain and then congratulate her. Soon the group is hugging, all except for Finn, Rachel, and Santana. As the group thins out Brittany looks sad but kisses Quinn on the cheek and says she's proud. Plus that Quinn will look hot in uniform. Puck automatically agrees and some laughs break out.

Mr. Schuester walks to her and hugs her tightly, telling her he's proud even if his heart is aching in his chest. She returns to her seat and can feel the latina burning holes in the back of her head.

"Well guys Monday we'll be singing for the last time in front of the school. Quinn I wish you could be here for it but I'm glad that you've decided what you want to do. It's very honorable and brave of you. I'll see everyone on Monday for graduation!" He yells and although everyone leaves smiling and chatting and hugging Quinn with promises of staying in touch, he can see that they have dulled down quite a bit. He leaves when he realizes Santana, Rachel, and Finn have all stayed behind while Quinn waits patiently at the front for the inevitable.

Once the door closes Quinn turns around and sighs. Santana just looks even more annoyed and storms up and into her face. "What are you thinking?! The Army? What the hell!? We were supposed to go to New York together! I told Berry to look for a bigger apartment because of that! And you said you had applied to NYU. What the fuck Quinn?" Santana looks outright hurt now.

"Santana I-" Quinn is cut off by Santana's snarl.

"What'd you sign up for?"

"What?" Quinn steps back for some much needed room.

"What. Did. You. Sign. Up. For. It's a simple question." Santana says, irritation becoming her only safety net.

"EOD." Quinn whispers and Santana steps back like she was physically shoved.

"EOD? Are you INSANE FABRAY?! Do you want to die?" Santana's voice cracks. "Are you trying to hurt me?" She whispers brokenly.

"Santana it's not that bad. I'll be safe, they train us to be safe. Don't be like this okay? I'd never do this to hurt you." Quinn pleads to Santana who just looks broken. She sniffles and steps into Quinn's space before hugging her as tightly as possible.

" I love you Quinn, with everything in me. Promise me you'll message me and call me and Skype me and everything." The latina cries softly.

"I promise." Is all Quinn can muster.

Santana smiles brokenly into Quinn's neck. "We're not coming to the airport. I can't watch you leave. Britt won't understand why we can't go."

"I understand." Quinn says. "Love you, S."

"Love you, Q" Is the last reply before Santana turns and walks away, slamming the door in her wake.

Quinn is still staring at the door when a soft clearing of a throat is heard. She smiles to herself before looking up and into dark brown eyes. Finn is still seated with his head bowed.

"What is 'EOD' Quinn?" Rachel asks in her authoritative tone.

Quinn looks over her carefully and commits this to memory as well. The girl is standing with her hands on her hips again and her hair is lightly falling in her face.

"Explosive Ordinance Disposal, Berry." Quinn adds, hoping to break the tension. Rachel's eyes go large as soon as she hears the words and she pales.

"Quinn I-"

"Listen Rachel I don't need to hear what a mistake I'm making or that I've disappointed you. You're off to New York! Your dream! This is why I didn't want to say anything."

"So what you were just going to leave.?" Rachel looks mad now, and she receives her answer when Quinn adverts her eyes. "You're unbelievable!" Rachel yells and stomps out.

Quinn steps back and her face morphs into confusion. She hears the door slam with more force this time. She doesn't understand the shorter girls anger. Sure they were getting along now and were kind of friends but she didn't understand why it matter to Rachel so much. They had just began this kind of friends thing anyways.

She shook her head and sat down next to Finn, deciding to think about the girls actions at a later date. "Hey." She nudges his shoulder with hers. He smiles and looks at her. "Hey yourself."

Sighing she turns to face him fully, which he mimics. "What's the problem? Going to tell me what a horrible mistake I've made? Or do you want to just kick some chairs for old times sake?" She asks the last question and makes him smile and soon they're both laughing together.

He reaches over and wraps his arm around her. She leans her head against his chest. "I'm proud of you Quinn, I really am. You're doing something that's so selfless but I feel like you're running away from your problems again."

She sighs and sits up. "Please Finn I don't want to do this."

"Why not? She's leaving on Friday next week! You'll be gone on Monday! Is that why you're leaving so soon? So you won't have to say goodbye?"

Quinn stood and began pacing. "Finn stop! I don't want to have this conversation again."

"You could've gone with them! She wants you there! Can't you see that? Quinn I think she has feelings for you too!"

"That's not enough Finn." She says with tears in her eyes. "I love her okay? I can't base my future around the hope that she may love me one day." Quinn sighs and he gets up to hug her. "Promise me you'll take care of her if she ever needs it?"

He holds onto her tight, forcing himself to remember this. Remember her like this, just in case something does happen. "I promise."

Quinn had spent the weekend checking if she had everything packed from the list her recruiter had given her. She didn't bring anything else and was staring at her bag that now sat next to her front door. This was it. Everything that was hers had to remain at home and the few things that were packed were brand new. She checked her watch that she now sported on her wrist and turned to call for her mom. When she look back her mother was staring at her with tears in her eyes.

"Uggh mom please, do we have to do this again?"

Judy stepped forward and hugged her body close. "I'm just so damn proud of you." She whispered.

Quinn turned in her mom's embrace and stared at this strange woman who must not be her mother. Judy never swore. "I've never heard you cuss. I'm _damn_ proud of you too mom."

"Quinn watch your language." Was what her mother muttered before reaching up to turn her daughters face so it was resting once more on her chin. "No matter what happens I'll always be proud of you. If you hate it you can always come home."

Quinn sighed and finally separated them. She debated on telling her mom that, no, that was not how it worked at all, but ultimately decided against it. "Come on mom, we have to get to the air port." She reached for her bag but Judy grabbed it up and when she went to glare her mom looked to her with a pleading glance. She understood that her mother just needed to do this one more time. To actually _be _a mother before her baby was transformed into a soldier.

The ride to the airport seemed to drag on. Judy thought about starting a conversation or turning on music but a glance at her Quinnie told her that the girl needed time to gather her thoughts. She'd be gone for basic for ten weeks. She wouldn't see her until her graduation and then she'd have to say goodbye again when her daughter went off to AIT. Her AIT would then be thirty-nine weeks long. Judy knew that if Quinn would have gone off to college it would've been tough but this was somehow harder.

When Quinn had first come to her about it, her daughter had made it very clear that she wasn't asking for permission but she would like for her mothers approval. At first Judy had been outraged, saying that she had so much in her life and she only wanted what was best for her. But Quinn stood strong and calmed her down and told her that she believed that this was the only way that she could truly make a difference in this world. Everything was fine until she told her what she'd signed on for. Then the yelling began again and Judy didn't speak with Quinn for almost two weeks. She wasn't angry but she felt betrayed. It was one this to talk about joining but to actually sign the documents was a whole different thing. On the Sunday that marked two weeks of no contact, Judy told her that she loved her and was proud. She then went on to joke about how many women like women in uniform. Quinn had blushed and laughed joking about bringing her home a daughter in law. And it felt nice. They both felt at ease for the first time in two weeks and Quinn decided that telling her mother she liked women over the summer was one of the best decisions that she'd made. Judy had been calm and accepting, even offering to take her to pride but she quickly declined. Her mother was nothing like her father and she was thankful for that.

The car slowed to a stop in a parking space, they both climbed out of the car and made their way in to the large airport. Judy still hadn't said anything and Quinn had spotted her recruited and waved. Turning to Judy, Quinn cleared her throat and her mom sniffled back the tears and looked to her daughter.

"Well this is it." Quinn said, her hands tucked nervously in her jeans. Judy nodded but said nothing. Quinn hugged her mom as tightly as she could and cried into her shoulder. Judy began crying as well, not caring what the passerby's thought.

"I'll miss you so much." Judy whispered.

"I'll be back before you know it." She looked at her mom carefully, committing this to memory too. She looked so imperfect in that moment, her head ducked and makeup running. She looked like a parent who was saying goodbye to their child. Because she was, even after all of the mistakes that they'd both made, they were still mother and daughter. "You can go mom. I don't know if I can leave knowing that you're still standing here."

Judy nodded, hugging Quinn and kissing the top of her head before walking away. She kept glancing back and waving until she almost ran into the door.

Quinn walked to her recruiter and smiled. "Hello sir." She held out her hand. He shook it strongly, introducing her to the other recruits that were standing around with them.

"Everyone ready to go?" He asked. Everyone replied with "Yes sir's" and they were about to walk to their wing when they started to hear "WAIT!" being yelled.

It continued to echo through the airport and Quinn saw a short brunette rushing towards them. She ran right into Quinn, almost knocking her over. Quinn grunted from having the wind knocked out of her but smiled.

"I'm so sorry for how I left things and I couldn't stand the thought of you being here and being upset with me because everyone else reacted well and I simply yelled at you! Please forgive me Quinn, I know we're only kind of friends but I won't be able to handle departing the way things are now." Rachel said in one breath.

Quinn squeezed her tighter before inhaling her scent and letting her go. She laughed gently at Quinn's blushing face and Quinn joined because she too looked flustered. "Always one to make it dramatic Berry."

The brunette looked up at her through long lashes and Quinn melted. "All is forgiven. But I have to go now Rachel. I'll miss you. All of you. Take care of them for me." And Rachel knew she was referring to Brittany and Santana.

Quinn gave her hand one last squeeze and turned around to her recruiter and the others who had given them space and she could only hear murmurs as they all began to walk towards their gate. Quinn looked over her shoulder and locked onto Rachel. She smiled gently and rounded a corner. Rachel felt a familiar feeling in her stomach and chest, her heart skipping a beat. She was screwed.

It had been two moths since that fateful day, and Rachel was in New York at NYADA's summer program. To say she loved it was an understatement. Well NYADA was beautiful and the students may be rude but New York was to die for. She felt in her element and like she belonged once in her life. Santana and Brittany had left with her and they were all currently enjoying their living arrangements. Sure they fought, Rachel and Santana being they, and Brittany was the mediator, but they were starting to really become best friends. Kurt had joined them a few weeks later and found a job at a diner. There was singing at the diner so naturally they all applied there as well. Once they were hired in they had more money and time to be away from each other so the fighting settled down and the friendship settled in. There had still been no word from Quinn but they knew that she was still in basic training. Santana and Brittany were saving up to attend her graduation. Kurt wasn't as close with Quinn so he wasn't going to attend and as much as Rachel wanted to, she had classes. She had told Kurt of her feelings for Quinn, the sensations at seeing her smile and walk away and he had promised not to say a word. However Santana smelled a secret and threatened to burn Kurt's designer clothing one by one if he didn't spill. When the first article of clothing went missing he immediately sang like a choir and Santana smirked. She knew Quinn had a thing for the hobbit but it wasn't her place to tell. Brittany started talking about double dates which made Rachel flush in return.

Two months living with forty-nine other girls was hell. No one was in a good mood and everyone seemed to sync up. They were tired and sore and homesick and shedding their civilian selves. It was tough but soon it was the night before graduation and everyone was excited. People were going to see their families for the first time in over two moths and no one seemed to have a bad thing to say. Quinn had become close to mostly everyone during basic. Sure there were a few people who didn't like her and that feeling was mutual but it was expected. There were bound to be people who didn't like you in life. Quinn was thrumming with excitement, just waiting to see her mom again. Not only that but she had received news from Judy that Santana had threatened to track Quinn down if her mother didn't tell her where and when her graduation was being held. She couldn't help but smile at the fact that Santana hadn't changed much. She worried that maybe she had changed and the latina may not like it. However Quinn was proud of who she was now and squashed the idea that Santana would ever think poor of her.

The ceremony for her graduation had come to an end and now families and friends were rushing to find their daughters and sons. It was tough but Quinn finally caught sight of Judy and Santana peering over and around people to find her while Brittany just caught her eyes and bounced and waved. Quinn rushed to her and with open arms, and engulfed her. She made sure to spin her twice before setting her down. Next up was Santana who latched on with fiery determination and Quinn picked her up too. Santana grumbled about being manhandled but smiled and Judy hugged Quinn tight. Finally, she held Quinn at arms length and stared at her in her Dress Blues.

"You look so beautiful." Her mom stated as a fact and hugged her again, crying softly.

"Thanks mom." Quinn giggled and then released her. "Hey guys."

"What's up Q? I see basic did you some good, got rid of all that baby fat, you know which baby fat I'm talking about." Santana smirked and Judy looked on in horror.,

"You look hot Q! San thinks so too but she just feels awkward thinking it in front of your mom." Brittany said, launching in for a hug and patting Quinn's butt. Santana blushed but smiled.

"So how's New York? Better than Lima I imagine?"

"The best! We all work at a diner and we get to sing and dance while we work. People tip really well when we do! Rachel always makes more but San says it's because they feel bad and are donating to help cure hobbit syndrome. I didn't know Rachel had that." Brittany looks off into the distance before returning to their world and smiling.

"It sounds like you guys are having quite the adventure." She answers happily.

"Yep we sure are Q. Even the hobbit and I are getting along. Although Hummel is always a problem. Going on about Rachel needing to just date this guy already."

Quinn's head snaps up at Santana's mention of Rachel. Then her mind processes it. Dating. "She can date if she wants to Santana." Quinn says strongly. She survived hell week, she could survive a few rounds with Santana Lopez.

"Well they're already doing it so I think she should definitely get a commitment going."

Quinn saw red but controlled it while her mother tried to block their conversation out. "Well Quinnie would you like to come out to lunch with us? You're allowed to leave for a little while, right?"

"Yeah, I just have to be back by 1700 hours." She replied naturally.

They turned to really look at her and smiled. She stood straight but she looked free. Like she was no longer carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders. Her blonde hair was up in a military sock bun and her Dress Blues were stark and clean. She looked like the vision of a perfect solider. They could see she had made the right choice.

It was Sunday night and families and friends were saying goodbye to each other. "Make sure you write and call Quinnie. No excuses this time. I understood why you didn't at basic but I want to be receiving emails and letters constantly." Judy smiled brightly dusting Quinn's uniform off and hugged her.

"Yes mother." Quinn said mockingly.

"Good. Then I'll give you girls a moment. I love you Quinn. I am so so proud of you. I'll see you again in thirty-nine weeks." Her mother broke down at that part. "I have to go or I'll never leave knowing that you're standing here." Judy repeated what Quinn had told her at the airport.

"I love you too." Quinn said. Watching her mom walk away was not any easier. It was maybe even worse.

"So Q, when are you going to come visit us in New York?" Brittany asked with a bright smile.

"As soon as I can."

"Why can't you now? I mean you graduated right? We can totally buy you a plane ticket if that's the problem. I saved up more money just in case." Brittany shakes her head proudly.

Quinn and Santana look at her in awe. She was becoming more independent and it scared them both a little. She always had to rely on them and it was frightening thinking about the day where they may have to rely on her more. Santana stepped into Quinn motioning for Brittany to join. They formed a close huddle and spoke quietly.

"No matter what happens we'll always have each others backs." Santana started. "Nothing will ever change between us Q. Right B?" Brittany nodded enthusiastically. "I want your ass on the first plane to New York when you're done with AIT. Understand?"

Quinn nodded and laughed. Santana definitely reminded her of a drill sergeant now that she thought about it.

"Alright bring it in." Santana stated, and they group hugged. "I'll be waiting for my phone calls and emails too _Quinnie_."

"Funny Lopez, maybe you should look into standup while you're in New York."

"Ha! They couldn't handle all of this." Santana motioned to her entire body. "I'm not big on long goodbyes. Later Q." The latina started walking away. Quinn was confused when Brittany stayed behind and stared at Santana's retreating form. She thought about asking her if she was confused, because as much as she loved Brittany, she couldn't stay with her.

"She's sad Q. She won't admit it but she misses you. I came home early from work and I thought maybe San was crying because she missed home but I'm with her and she told me I'm home. I hadn't been gone very long so there was no way she was already that lonely. She told me she was worried about you. She was afraid that one day she'd get a call and there'd be no more you. I know that I'm not as smart as everyone else but I understood what she meant. Q I don't want to get that call either." Brittany was crying a little but she had the most serious expression that Quinn had ever seen on her. "Promise me you'll come home Q. Home isn't home without you."

Quinn nodded and buried her face in Brittany. She hadn't cried since she got to basic. Leave it to Brittany to be the one to break her. "I love you Britt."

"I love you too Q."

"Come on Fabray! New York? What in the hell could be in New York? I mean when we finish class here I'm going to the beach for my month off. Holy hell I've had enough of being in crowded spaces with people." Martinez rocked back in her chair laughing when Quinn rolled her eyes. Jessica Martinez was a short Hispanic woman and she was only a year older than Quinn. She'd grown up in the bay area of California and was proud of it. She joined the Army because her father had been in the service, as were her two brothers and when her youngest turned eighteen in two years, he would as well. So she was an Army brat but she was proud of that as well.

"Not everyone wants to park their ass on the beach and get sand all up in them. I'll be glad to just get home and relax with my family. My dog is gonna be so stoked to see me too." Daniels defended. She was slightly shorter than Quinn but stronger than an ox and one of the buffest women Quinn had ever met. Sasha Daniels was from Washington but unlike Martinez, she wasn't proud of that. She hated Washington but her husband loved it and since he took care of their kids she didn't have much say. Sasha had joined because of the healthy sign on bonus she was offered for EOD, but also because she had an ultimatum. Quinn related very well to Sasha. Both were raised in religious homes, both had parents that drank too much. Although her parents gave it up after her mother had drank too much and fought with Sasha. In her rage she had pushed her daughter into a glass cabinet, earning her a scar that trailed from her elbow to her bicep. It stood out roughly against her dark skin. They both also had had sex out of wedlock, the only difference was Sasha was seventeen when she got pregnant. Her parents loved her but they still made her decide, if she was going to stay with them then she'd have to marry the father. The father was an Eric Daniels, a straight A white boy who was the resident nerd at the school. When Sasha had introduced him to her parents they had both laughed until they realized it wasn't a joke. Her father had almost convinced her mother that she didn't have to marry him but she wouldn't hear it. So at twenty-five she has been married for eight years and the two have started to slowly resent one another. Sasha resents him for making her choose between a grocery store job or the Military. Eric resented her because he was set to go to the college of his dreams and become a lawyer but instead had to marry her.

"Daniels you're just gay for Fabray. You two should seriously just hook up before we leave. Get this sexual tension relieved and the awkwardness gone before we get stationed together." Martinez said.

Quinn and Daniels both blushed and ducked their heads, looking anywhere but at each other. Quinn cleared her throat, "And what makes you so sure that we're going to be stationed together?"

Martinez rolled her eyes this time, a horrible trait that she'd picked up from Quinn. One that had cost her to run a mile in full Disposal gear. "Because we're the smartest people in our class Fabgay. We'll get stuck together because we work well together and we have yet to set off any of the bombs in training"

Quinn nodded and remembered back to when she had been with another squad doing practice run throughs. The group of three had managed to set off four of the seven bombs via trip wires and pressure plates. She hated how loud the fake bombs were. They blew smoke everywhere. It was a terrifying experience. To know that the people you were with and you yourself would be dead in that moment. One wrong footstep, one wrong word, one small mishap, not checking the right area, and everything you were and everyone close enough, gone. Finally after more practice they got it right. But when she was assigned in a group with Daniels and Martinez, they didn't set off a single one in their first go through. That had never happened before. She had never worked with these two women before that time, but she hadn't worked with anyone since. For some reason they all just clicked, and while Quinn and Daniels both felt something for each other, Quinn had deep feelings for Rachel and Daniels was married and had children. Martinez loved to tease them about it. Neither would ever act on their feelings, it would be wrong and they were too good of friends to have that kind of tension in their lives. They had to watch each others backs because they knew the risk, anytime they set foot outside the wire they'd be risking their lives. Anything could go wrong within a second, that's why their training was so extensive. That's why the washout rate was so high. They knew the risks going in and as much as it scared them, they loved every second of it.

"Maybe. I can't wait to get away from you Martinez. You've been a thorn in my side for too long." Quinn joked.

"You love me! I've saved your ass like four times!"

"I think you've got that backwards!" Daniels cut in.

"Who keeps track of those kinds of things anyways!" Martinez laughs

"God you remind me so much of Santana, it's disturbing really." Quinn stares at the girl who leans further back in her chair.

"Well we are both hot ladies. I could take her though, she doesn't have my muscles." Martinez flexed, tipping back too far and slamming down against the floor, back first.

Daniels and Quinn burst out laughing while Martinez picked up the chair and her damaged ego from the floor.

"Yeah you're also _waaaaay_ smoother!"

"Shut up Fabray!" Martinez defends.

The bell sounds for departure to class and the three of them look to each other. "Last one there does suit tomorrow?" Martinez asks. They both nod in return and take off, Quinn trails slower getting stuck with the bomb suit for all of tomorrow. She wants the extra training, she has to keep a promise to a certain blonde.

Thirty-nine weeks. More than nine months. It had been that long since Santana saw Quinn in person. She stared at her alarm clock that read 5:56 AM in bright red. It was clearly mocking her, rubbing it in that she didn't even have to get up until nine o'clock. And still here she was, covered by a mere sheet while her feet breathed in the cool air of the apartment. She sat up slowly and untangled her limbs from Brittany's, working hard to not disturb her from her sleep. Looking down she saw the peaceful look on Brittany's stunning face. There was some drool dripping onto her pillow but she was still the most gorgeous woman that Santana had ever laid eyes on. She knew that she was going to marry this woman. Start a family, have a dog and hundreds of cats, and dance the night away. Complete with a white picket fence. This was her dream, to watch all of Brittany's come true. Well she also had becoming a doctor as her dream, but that was just a bonus.

So she stretched her limbs in all of her glory and pulled on a shirt and some shorts, making her way from the tiny room into the tinier kitchen.

"Good lord put a shirt on. No one wants to see you half naked." Santana huffed out, without her morning cup of coffee Brody went from her least favorite person to her mortal enemy.

The boy, upon hearing her declaration, squeaked and dropped the spatula that he was using to cook and tried to cover himself. Santana leaned around the corner to see what his deal was and there he was wearing his birthday suit. "Sweet Jesus!" Santana immediately spun around to avoid seeing anymore of him when Rachel decided to round the corner with headphones in. The two collided and both were thrown to the floor.

Rachel ripped her headphones out, "What has gotten into you Santana!? What are you even doing up?" Rachel was holding the top of her head that was already forming a lump. It would undoubtedly bruise.

"I was trying to get coffee when your play thing decided it was an okay decision to cook naked! I turned and you came bulldogging around the corner like I was a smoked honey ham and attacked my face!" Santana put her hand to her lower lip and pulled away with a bit of blood. "Nice Berry! You split my lip!" She stormed around the corner to the bathroom.

"What are you doing up so early!?" Rachel shouted. "And why are you cooking naked?" She asked Brody who was still standing dumbfounded, his eggs were burning.

Before the boy could answer Santana stormed back to the kitchen and poked Rachel in the chest. "Listen here Hobbit, it's only..." She glances to the stove in the kitchen, "6 AM and Brittany has class in a few hours. She needs her sleep, gots it? She had a rough day and I'm going to her class so I can haves a chat with the bitch that called her stupid. You better get it," the latina gestures towards Brody, "out of here before I'm done with my shower or you'll both be in a world of hurt. You don't wants me to go all Lima Heights Adjacent on you." And with that Santana storms back to the bathroom and quietly shuts the door.

Rachel stares in her wake and shakes her head. Normally Santana isn't like this. Even if Brittany has a rough day the latina usually just goes to her girlfriends class early and waits for the offender. But something else must be bothering her if she's threatening people. She always was hard on Brody but she rarely threatened Rachel, at least when she did it wasn't in a serious manner.

The short brunette sighs deeply, deciding to wait for the girl to have her shower so that she can calm down. In the meantime... "Brody you still haven't answer my question...and please put some clothing on." Brody smirked and walked to her bedroom. She and Brody had been doing whatever it was they were doing since they met about two months into the summer program. She didn't love the boy but he was attractive enough for her to feel something. Her mind often drifted to a certain blonde in uniform, only ever seeing her in it from pictures she had sent to Santana, Quinn had yet to write to her and she couldn't understand why that was.

Brody chose to reenter at that moment, collectively saving her from her rather sad thoughts. "Why were you cooking naked? You know how Santana feels about her food. She doesn't want anyone naked in the kitchen." Rachel reminds him.

"No she said no sex in the kitchen." He says to her while he walks up and places his hands on her waist. "She didn't say anything about being naked in it." He kisses her softly and she wishes so badly that she saw fireworks. She also thought it was strange that anyone would want to cook naked. There were just too many dangers not to mention how unsanitary it was. She shook the thoughts from her mind and looked up at his face. He had soft eyes and a perfectly chiseled jaw. His hair always looked like it had been styled by professionals. But he wasn't her and she didn't know if anyone could ever make her feel the way Quinn did. Because in the short moment that Quinn had tossed her a look and smiled to her at the airport, she had felt like her heart had been ripped from her chest, and taken with the blonde. Rachel was in love with Quinn, and she wanted so desperately not to be. It wasn't that she was a girl, it was that she was in the military. She had nothing against the military but she knew that a moments notice she could lose the hazel eyed girl and she didn't know if she could take it. From having the right to hold and kiss the blonde and call her her girlfriend, and then just have it ripped away? She couldn't risk it, she would be the sensible one, and if it turned out that the blonde somehow could or did harbor those same feelings for her, she would just have to tell the blonde it wasn't possible. Or lie to her and say she didn't feel the same.

A kiss to her neck brought her out of her thoughts. "You should go. Santana will be done soon and I really don't want to face her wrath this early in the morning."

"Lets go to your room." He said suggestively. His breath on her neck made her giggle so he picked her up and walked them towards it. She kissed him deeply and then shoved him away once he set her down.

"I'm sorry Brody but we can't right now. I'll see you later, okay?" She whispered gently stroking his face.

He kissed her hand in return and nodded. "Do you want me to clean up the eggs?" She smiled softly and shook her head. "Alright, bye." He smiled and kissed her which she returned.

Once he slid the door shut she went to clean the eggs. She was still a vegan but no one else was. And the only person who had eggs at the moment was...Santana. Great. Once the burnt excuse for eggs were dumped into the garbage. She gently went about setting the pan in the dishes to soak. Rachel then went to make coffee, passing the calender on the way. She back tracked when she spotted the red circle around today's date. Odd. The brunette wasn't expecting company and as far as she knew none of her roommates were either. She shrugged it off and began to make the coffee, nice and strong, that would please the latina. Just as she got up to retrieve a cup for herself Santana stormed out and her shoulders relaxed when she saw no signs of Brody. "He gone?" She asked in a disinterested voice. Rachel nodded in response, gauging the latina's reaction. She sat down on the bar stool and removed the towel that was in her hair. Rachel filled another cup full of the strong liquid and set it in front of Santana. She waited for five minutes (because she was counting and it was a trick that Brittany had told her to try) before engaging in conversation.

"Do you hate Brody?" Santana pulled her eyes from the contents of her cup and stared at Rachel deeply before she returned to it and took a long sip. The brunette did what she usually did and tried to fill the awkward silence with more words. "It's just that I've been with him for almost a year and you still act as if you just met him. Brittany and Kurt are both very respectful towards him and always ask him how he is. They even talk with him if I'm not there. But you? He told me that when I was late last week you both sat on the couch for forty-five minutes in silence. He said that you stared at him the entire time and that when Kurt got home, he knew his prayers had been answered. And today? I know that it's very disturbing for someone to cook in the nude. To see that was probably not what you were expecting but he did make a good point. You said no sex in the kitchen but-"

"Look Rachel it's not him. Well I mean yeah I don't like him because he's a freak and there's something wrong with someone who can have sex with another person for a year without defining it."

"But you and Britt-"

"Are different. I just feel like he's using you." Santana said in a monotone. Rachel knew that this was Santana being worried though. Brittany had told her that Santana showed she cared about someone in ways that were different and not to be offended in her wording.

Rachel reached across the table and grabbed the latina's hand. "I appreciate the concern Santana but I've never once objected. We may not have anything defined but we both care for each other."

"Are you trying to tell me that you like him? Or are you just using him too?" The latina asked curiously.

"I care for him as I'm sure he cares for me." Rachel tries to find a better way to say it but no matter what she would have said, the girl in front of her would know it was a lie.

"Whatever you have to tell yourself Berry." Santana merely shrugged and the tension in the room disappeared.

Rachel simply smiled, patting the girl's hand once more and then turned to grab the pot of coffee and refill Santana's glass. On her way she caught sight of the calender once more. Returning with the pot in hand she begins to fill her cup. "Hey what's going on today?"

Santana looks at her with drawn brows and shakes her head, irritated. "What?"

"On the calendar, today it's circled in red pen. What's so important?" Santana freezes and Rachel stops filling her cup. "What? What's wrong?" She is concerned that from all of the angry talking Santana has done that perhaps she has high blood pressure or-

"Quinn finishes AIT today." Santana mumbles. Rachel doesn't catch it and decides to finish topping up the glass.

"I beg your pardon?" Is her instant reply and when Santana repeats herself this time, it's Rachel's turn to go into shock. Santana is going on about seeing the sleaze ball naked and running into hobbits and how the water was still cold in the shower, so all of this caused it to slip from her mind but Rachel could only faintly hear it. The coffee spills over and drips onto the exposed legs of Santana.

"WHAT THE HELL BERRY!" Santana shrieks, jumping up from the stool like it was on fire. It was enough to snap the petite woman out of her haze.

"Santana I'm so sorry!" Rachel quickly returns the coffee pot to it's place and grabs a washcloth, running cold water over it. She rushes over to the scolded girl and applies it.

"OUCH! What the- ohhhh yeah that feels soooooo good." Santana basically moans out the last words and lets her head fall back against the wall. Brittany walks out dazed, and she can hear Kurt walking from the opposite hall. Brittany turns her head to the side and smirks a little while Kurt can only see Rachel Bent down with Santana moaning with her head dropped back and Brittany smirking.

"AHH god I'm sorry I thought someone was hurt!" He turns with his eyes closed and trips over the coffee table, landing with a solid thud followed by a grunt.

"Kurt!" Rachel squeaks, looking up to Brittany who has sex hair and is smirking. Santana is still against the wall and moaning from the relief of the cold wash cloth. Rachel assesses the situation and where she currently is and knows what this looks like. She stands, dropping the cloth into Brittany's hand and runs to Kurt who is still laying on the ground, clutching his shin. It looks red but not significantly injured. "Kurt I know what it looks like but I swear we weren't doing anything! I was pouring Santana coffee because she was mad that Brody was cooking naked in the kitchen and then she told me that Quinn is fished with AIT today and I got distracted and the coffee over filled and burned her so I had to apply a cold wash cloth to her leg to prevent it from blistering." Rachel finished in one breath and quickly sucked in some much need oxygen.

Kurt looks dazed and confused so he blinks about a hundred times and asks slowly "Who cooks naked?"

"Well well well lookie here." Martinez marched up to Quinn with a shit eating grin.

"What?" Quinn asked, not understanding what her friend was up to. If her expression was anything to go by then she was up to no good.

"Why didn't you tell me you have a lady back in New York? I wouldn't have teased you and Daniels so much." Martinez cuts her line of sight towards Daniels who just flips her off in return and continues to pack her things away.

"First of all there's no 'lady' as you put it, back in New York. Secondly, I know you and I know that you would have teased us even more than you do now." Quinn finishes then she wrinkles the shirt she has in her hand and tosses it into Martinez' face.

The other girl snatches it up and whips it at Quinn's back causing her to laugh, before Martinez throws herself onto the girls bed. "You're going to remake that. Top notch too, because I don't want to do anymore pull-ups or sit-ups or push-ups. I just want to get on my plane and go home."

"I thought Lima was home? And if there's no one in New York then why go?" Martinez asks with false innocence.

Quinn falters for a moment and both girls sense that maybe the joking has gone too far. Daniels whips a shirt at Martinez next, "Get off there and make it you turd."

Martinez grumbles and starts to straighten it up. "I'm the turd? As I recall who was it the stepped onto a pressure plate? Quinn do you know?" Martinez acts like she seriously has no clue.

Quinn scratches her chin and seems in deep thought. "Hmm I got nothin." She says with a shrug of her shoulders. Daniels glares but continues to pack.

"Oh that's right! It was you! And you cost us five minutes and almost blew our record. We both had to work on it! Thus getting our score knocked. You just had to go and be clumsy, stepping on what was probably the hardest bomb we've ever had to defuse."

"Oh my god Martinez. Shut. Up. It wasn't even a real bomb. God." Daniels zips her bag and sets it down on the floor, sitting down on top of it in the process.

"I'm glad it wasn't." Quinn says, and all of them go silent. It's not the first or last time that they'll have one of these moments. It's always sobering and they just take a moment to be.

Their CO comes in at that time and all of them straighten up and stand in formation, saluting their Commanding Officer. "At ease. Today's the day. I have to say you three are some of the finest soldiers that I've had the pleasure of teaching. Now I'm aware of the phrase 'Everyone makes mistakes, we're all human.' but none of you have the luxury of making mistakes anymore. We don't ask for perfection, we demand it. When you get out there it won't be practice anymore. There won't be any redo's. It's real life and there are no do overs in real life. You won't re-spawn and get right back to it. If you're lucky you won't have these mistakes. If you make a mistake you'll be lucky to survive. You'll be a miracle if you away from it untouched, both physically and mentally. But you'd also be a liar. Things out there will change you, so I won't sugar coat it. It's going to be tough and I can't promise any of you that you'll come back. I pray that you do. That's the hardest thing about teaching soldiers in this field. I go to more of their funerals than I can count. It's real now. I know that you heard that at graduation last night but I want you to burn it into your minds. It is real. If you don't pay attention you will die. Remember everything that you have learned here and if something doesn't feel right take a minute. Think hard and look hard. Chances are things are more complicated than you can see. I won't take up anymore of your time. Here are your duty assignments. Dismissed." He walked away and towards the next room.

Quinn opened hers and saw that her station was in...Texas? What the hell.

"Please tell me that I'm not the only one with a lame duty station." Daniels says closing her eyes and sighing with disappointment.

"Are you shitting me?! TEXAS?! Why in the hell would I go there? What's there?" Martinez looked like someone had just asked her to solve an impossible riddle.

"Looks like you got what you wanted Martinez. We're all stationed together." Daniels said shoving Martinez back. Quinn just laughed and slung her bag over her shoulders, gripping tightly to her plane ticket.

"Wait you guys too?! My prayers have been answered!"

"When will she be here Santana?" Rachel pleads for the millionth time that morning. Kurt wonders if he hit his head on his fall because he has a horrible headache and Rachel Berry is making it one he shall not forget.

After the episode that will one day be referred to as Trippy Tuesday, everyone went about their normal routines and once that was over they still had an hour before they made their departures. What they didn't realize is that Santana only had to deal with a girl in Brittany's class before taking off to the airport. If they had checked the work schedule they would have noticed that she had taken the week off. She and Brittany had money saved up so she didn't have to worry about running low on funds.

Rachel's annoying voice hit Santana again while she was tying to get her morning cuddle on. "Please Santana I need to know!" Now, Santana's temper had decreased, she had started to learn that she could give people a little more time and count to ten before blowing up but Berry had made her reach her wits end too early in the morning.

"Why Berry? You have a guy and she doesn't need to spend her only month off in almost a year chasing after you. You have someone so leave her alone! And have you seen the women in the military. They have to be fit, so there's no way Fabgay hasn't tapped her some of that yet." Santana went to continue her morning cuddle but was met with cold air and Brittany storming to their shared room. "God Berry why do I even try with you!" Santana sighed and threw her head to rest on the back of the couch. She heard another loud slam and groaned. Great she had already pissed off two people that she loved. "I don't even get all of these feelings! Like a long distance relationship can work." A few seconds later she heard another slam. Make that three people.

She stood to enter her room and took some calming breaths on the way there. She opened it to see Brittany getting ready for class. Blue eyes glared at her and then returned to her closet. "Britt-Britt I'm sorry-"

"Don't apologize to me Santana." Brittany snapped. "Apologize to Rachel and Kurt."

"How did you even...?"

"I heard his door slam. Why can't you just be nice to Rachel? She loves Quinn but they both are sad unicorns already. Don't make it harder. Please." Santana noticed her girlfriends lip begin to quiver and opened her arms, which Brittany walked into.

They stayed like that until Brittany's alarm on her phone went off. "I have to get dressed." She kissed Santana on the lips and pushed her out.

And there she was, alone with Rachel. But when Rachel turned to leave Santana stopped her "Wait. Please. Please wait." She tried to correct her demand.

Rachel halted with her back still to her. "I thought you had gone with Brittany to class. I'll be going back to my-"

"I get it alright? It sucks that we can't call Quinn whenever. Whether it's to make plans or see if she'll pick up food, or just talk. It sucks. This wasn't how B and I had planned it to go. But it did and Q seems really happy with what she's doing. She seems scared but that's normal. We were all scared when we got here but look at us now. And I haven't seen her since then, only pictures and emails. Look, Berry, I get that you're into Q but do you really think that the two of you can be in a relationship? It's not like she's in college. She can't text you or call you whenever she wants, there are set times for that. What if you have a bad day? Wouldn't you want to talk to your partner about that? Well you can't with her, you can't just randomly call her. And what about fighting? What if you fight and something happens to one of you? Would either of you be able to live with yourselves after that? No. I'm not just looking out for her, Berry. I'm looking out for you too." Rachel smiles and Santana glares at her. "Don't ever tell anyone. Now go get dressed or something Hobbit."

When Rachel starts approaching her she feels a little nervous, not that she'd ever admit it. "I'm going to hug you now." And Santana has to count to ten.

Quinn had just spent the entire three hours of her plane ride next to a man who would not get off of his phone. She knew more about his relationship then she cared to. He even had the audacity to leer at her when he began what she would call, toned down phone sex. If that's what New York had to offer her then laying on a beach next to Martinez sounded much more appealing. Ahh the fresh air of- nope smog definitely sucked. Quinn grabbed her bag from the luggage return and walked off towards the entrance of the airport. Some people nodded in her direction and a man even stopped her to ask what her job was in the military. He saluted her when she told him but found herself trying not to sigh. You don't salute indoors, because he wasn't an officer and she wasn't reporting for duty. Nevertheless she wasn't about to argue with the man. So now New York was already irritating her and it only got worse when she realized Santana still wasn't there. She pulled out the letter that contained the address and began to make the trek.

_Knock knock knock_

The one time that Santana chooses to take some time for herself and just sleep, of course she's interrupted. First that girl from Britt-Britt's class made her go all Lima Heights on her and now-

_knock knock knock_

For the love of everything that is holy she is about to strangle whoever is on the other side of that door. Dragging her exhausted body up from the couch she can barely open her eyes from the sunlight. "Lady Hummel better buy some new damn curtains." Is mumbled under her breath before she reaches the door to slide it open.

_Knock knock kn-_

Sliding it open and wearing a scowl Santana blows up. "I heard you the first fucking time!" Her eyes force out the pain of the sun and register Quinn standing in front of her. Well Army Quinn because dayum she looks good.

The blonde smiles in return and rolls her eyes, which seems to snap Santana out of it. Before Quinn can make a sarcastic comment the brunette has thrown her body into her. "God Q! Your plane early or something? I just laid down and closed my eyes."

Quinn chuckles and looks at her watch covered wrist that is behind Santana. "Nope, late actually. By a half an hour. But I needed to stretch my legs so don't worry about it." She hugs the girl back tightly before they separate.

"Don't just stand there, get in here dip shit. You're letting all of the AC out." And it's just as easy as it's always been.

Quinn observes the apartment. The pictures don't do it justice even if it is small. The kitchen is on the left as soon as the apartment is entered. There are two hallways, one on the right and left. The living and dining area are both directly in front of the door, while a corner around the kitchen is where the bathroom rests. "So S where is you room?"

"Nu uh Fabray, I knew you always wanted me but this is off limits." She smirks which causes Quinn to laugh and walk to the left hallway and take the first door on the right.

There's a huge bed that takes up most of the room, and a closet on the left side right next to the door. On the right side of the room is a short dresser that has clothes hanging out of it and a computer parked on top. A broken down desk chair in front of it. "Feel like browsing the web? I know you said you had all kinds of restrictions on base. Not here loser. Just make sure to clear the history, yeah?" Santana teases which causes Quinn to shove her and pretty soon they're pushing each other around and running through the apartment. Quinn grabs a throw pillow off of the couch and jumps on top of it, choosing the high ground while Santana just barrels forward with the pillow she had been sleeping on, using it as a shield. Quinn loses her footing and they both topple to the floor, giggling up a storm. They're broken away by the sound of keys jingling and the door sliding open.

Brittany was excited. Not only had the mean girl been extra nice to her today, but she had also decided to take over clean up duty after dance class for her. So she was early and was making her way to the bakery around the corner of the block for their apartment. Unlike anyone else Brittany paid attention to when people took time off and she noticed that her girlfriend had. She also recognized the red circle in pen on the calender. The same one that was used to mark the day Quinn graduated. Which is why she was on her way to the bakery. To pick up the cake that she had ordered for Quinn. The woman smiled brightly at Brittany. The girl was always so sweet and innocent to the baker and she was also a regular customer. When the girl had placed the order the baker was surprised. The blue eyed girl seemed sad when she said what she wanted on the cake but a smile appeared when she told her that in a few days The Unholy Trinity would be reunited. The baker had no idea what the dancer was talking about but smiled once more and gave her a friends and family discount. With the cake paid for and in hand she headed back home. Yes, home was finally home and would be for a month. Brittany took the elevator so she didn't have to risk dropping the cake and when she reached the third floor and came to a stop in front of the door she paused. The dancer heard laughter and jumping. Waiting a few moments she heard a thump followed by uncontrollable giggles. She smiled to herself and took a few steps back, noisily jingling her keys and putting them in the slot. She balanced the cake and slid the door back. Santana and Quinn were in a heap on the ground, surround by the throw pillows from the couch. They both stared at her in silent horror as if they had just been caught stealing cookies from the cookie jar. Brittany began laughing hard and the pair on the floor started in again.

When the laughter began to die down she made her way to the kitchen counter and set the cake down. It was packaged in a white box so no one could peak at it. As if on cue Santana rushed over and tried to pry to tape up, but Brittany lightly swatted her hands. "S no peaking! It's for Q." Quinn rounded the corner shyly and Brittany ran into her, hugging her as hard as her arms would allow. "Quinn! I missed you so much! My day was so great and it's totally because you're here." She gripped Quinn's uniform tighter and that earned her three spins around. She squealed and laughed the entire time. Taking a step back she observed the soldier closely. "You look really hot Q. San and I have a bigger bed now so if you want to-"

"B," Santana interrupted, putting her arm around Brittany's waist and narrowing her eyes at a smirking Quinn. "that'd be cheating baby. And Q Ball can't handle us." She kissed the blue eyed woman softly and went to sit on a bar stool, taking Brittany with her. "So soldier girl, any special ladies in your life?" Santana questioned.

Quinn leaned against the bar and looked at her friends. Brittany was sitting on Santana's lap and they both looked so interested. They also looked happy and so in love. Quinn was waiting constantly for a wedding invitation. "No. Not yet."

"But don't you like Sasha? I like her name and she's really pretty. She has a pretty smile Q." Brittany adds in.

"She's one of my friends Britt but she's married with kids." Quinn replies softly.

"Oh there's the deal breaker. See you'd totally bang if she had a husband, but kids? That complicates it." Santana smirks.

"I guess we'll never know." Quinn jokes, sticking her tongue out at the girl.

"Wow really mature Fabray." The girl stands up, Brittany hopping off and heading to Quinn, resting her head on her shoulder. "So lets go do something you lazy ass. Brittany has had class and I've been slaving away at chores all day. You've only had to get on a plane." Santana tosses over her shoulder as she heads for the door. Quinn only laughs and shakes her head in return, lacing her hand with Brittany's and swinging the joined hands, they follow the feisty woman out of the apartment.

Honestly all Rachel was asking for was a smooth day. It wasn't a lot to hope for considering the morning that she'd had. As it turned out she was just not that lucky. Besides living in New York and following her dreams, but still! So far she had just had too many disappointments. What with her normal coffee shop having a line out of the door because they were giving away free coffee and breakfast to the first fifty costumers. Now she was running late to her next class that was instructed by Casandra July who she was certain was trying to ruin her life. The woman was the devil and Rachel despised everything about her. If Brody hadn't stopped her in the hall and smiled cutely at her she wouldn't be late. When she had first started doing their 'not dating but not single' thing she had decided that he was a great distraction. It didn't occur to her that he could distract her outside of the bedroom as well. But she liked his attention and people treated her better when they saw the two together. All she wanted was a nice long hot shower once this class was over. Then she could enjoy a cup of tea and do her homework. Maybe life wasn't so bad after all.

"Come on, you haven't even thought about hooking up with someone?" Santana chatted to her like they were in private when they were actually in a crowded subway car. "Birtt's and I would fuck you so that clearly isn't the problem." Santana's face was scrunched in thought but all Quinn could do was blush.

"Santana! This isn't the place to be talking about it." Quinn whispered harshly at the other girl. She looked to the woman sitting across from her and smiled. The black haired girl smiled in return and actually flushed red. Did she find Quinn attractive or-

"I think she likes you Q. You should totally ask for her number." Brittany nudged her and Quinn shook her head and stared forward like she was taught in basic training. That meant that she would have to stare at the girl in front of her which caused them both to blush more but smile at one another. Brittany stretched her arm behind Quinn and gave the girl a small shove, causing her to slip out of her seat and almost slam into the girl.

"I am so sorry!" Quinn amended, "I must have slipped and – I didn't bump you or anything did I?"

The dark haired girl giggled and stood in front of Quinn. "Nope. Call me." And slipped a piece of paper into the blonde's hand that dangled at her side. The note had _Alesia_ scrawled down, followed by a number. She only noticed it had stopped when the "Doors Closing" recording came on. She twisted around to see the girl wave.

She crumpled the paper in her hand and let it sail to the floor. The thought was nice but Quinn wasn't looking for a hook up. She wanted the real deal. She slipped back into her seat, "What the hell Q?! That girl was smoking, and she wanted to-"

Brittany leans over and kisses Santana and the raven haired girl understands. Quinn still loves Rachel. "It's okay Q, things always work out the way they're supposed to." Brittany says patting the shorter blonde's leg while standing up. Quinn jumps to her feet feeling nervous. She's never been to New York besides for Nationals and getting left behind is not on her to do list.

"Where are we going?" Quinn asks as they navigate through the large crowds of people departing with them as well as getting on the subway.

"Only the best Chinese restaurant in New York!" Brittany twirls around holding Santana's hand still and the two couldn't look anymore in love. "I remembered how much you love it! We haven't had it since the one time because you weren't here too. It made me sad."

Quinn wraps her arm protectively around Brittany and almost cries. "Thank you B."

"Oh oh oh! We're here!" Brittany breaks free and rushes down the steps. Halfway down Santana looks up to a motionless Quinn and laughs.

"Q, you're not gonna get ax murdered. There are tons of places like this here, it's not like back home." Santana turns and finishes her walk down. Quinn breathes out her last bit of anxiety and takes the steps down. No more caution while in New York, she was going to enjoy every second of it.

"RACHEL!" Kurt yells as he comes through the door. The sharply dressed man is tired from work and can't help but his irritation. He new she was home and desperately needed a drink and break from work. His friend ran from her room in her workout gear smiling brightly.

"What can I do for you?" She says too cheerily for his ears and runs her hand across his back. Fine, so she knew how to soothe his anger. The girl reached to get him a cup of water and heard a groan. Turning with a raised brow she saw him with his face down and hand pointing in the direction of the cupboard above the stove. "That bad huh?" She asks him sweetly before standing on her tippy toes and batting at it with a spatula from the dishes. Finally the bottle fell into her hands, narrowly missing the floor. She poured him a half cup of the vodka and sets it in front of him.

The boy stares at the glass and tips it back chugging it while the brunette stares in shock and concern. He winces and makes a noise of disgust. Looking up he meets her eyes and blows out a huff before dragging his body towards the couch and landing on it sloppily. "I hate vodka so I figured it would be easier to take it all at once."

"Understandable." Rachel says sweetly and dances over to him and sits beside him. "Would you care to share your fantastic day?" She says hoping to bring out a smile on the boy's face.

"No. It was busy and understaffed. I miss Blaine and I just want to sleep all day tomorrow." He looked up at her through his lashes then and frowns. "I have a favor." He states

"Of course Kurt!" Rachel smiles brightly and he winces, knowing she really won't be happy after this.

"I was wondering...if you'd work for me tomorrow? I'm so tired and I just-I need a break." He pleads, dropping to his knees and grabbing her hands.

Her smile falters slightly but then takes character. "Some would give fight to the death just to be in my presence. What does this handsome knight have to offer in return." She says in a very accurate British accent.

He smiles knowing this is her way of saying yes. "For you my lady? For you I'd catch the sun and the moon." He says imitating her accent.

"Both? What could I possibly want with both?" She stands and turns dramatically.

Kurt reaches for her face exaggeratedly and makes her look to him. "So that you may control the seasons and the people my love. All will look to you, asking your permission for such." He finishes softly.

Rachel pretends to think it over and sighs. "Very well. I will do this for you, but you must first concur the dishes!" She yells dramatically and cast her finger in their direction, covering her face with her free arm.

"As you wish my lady." He takes her hand and kisses the back, bowing to her as he backs away towards them.

Rachel laughs, taking Kurt's prior position on the couch. "Hey did you throw all of the pillows off of the couch before you left this morning?"

"No why?" He asks as he gets the sponge ready.

She turns to look at him, confused. "Well they were scattered all over the floor."

"Probably Santana and Brittany." He wiggles his eyebrows causing her to jump up from it.

"The couch!? That's disgusting, we have to sit there!" She screeches, heading to the bathroom in search of something to clean the invisible germs away."Sometimes I just don't understand those two. They have a perfectly fine bed in their room. The couch is for sitting and entertainment purposes. I wrote that in the roommate contracts!" She gives up her search and grabs the febreeze.

"Well some would say that is a form of entertainment." Kurt winks to her.

"Kurt you're not helping! When they get home we are going over the contracts again!"

Kurt rolls his eyes. "Rachel let's just talk to them without bringing the contracts in."

"But that's why they signed them. They are obligated by contract to-"

"Do you think Santana will even listen to you if you bring them out?" Rachel shakes her head and he laughs. "We'll talk to her and if she doesn't listen we'll get her back.."

Rachel claps her hands against the bottle and begins spraying the couch down. "How?"

"We'll mess with the time on her alarm and put a bucket of cold water above the bathroom door." He grins wickedly.

"What if it gets Brittany though?" Rachel asks sadly.

"That's why it's above the bathroom. So we can stop her if it's Brittany." He calmly explains, realizing this is may be the first time Rachel has pranked someone.

"She beams at him and then grows serious. "Can we do it anyways?" She asks, turning to him.

He holds up the bucket. "I was just about to start filling it!"

Rachel rushes back to the bathroom, putting the febreeze away and rushes towards the blonde and black haired girls shared room. "I'll set the clock!" She trips on something in the doorway and curses under her breath, stumbling towards to clock. She sets the alarm two hours early and laughs to herself, knowing the latina never checks the time. She hurries back out of the door shutting it tightly, not noticing the Army bag that she had tripped on.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hey! I'm sorry it has taken me so long to update this. I got the flu right after I posted this story and then I went through a not so great breakup. My summer semester of college is starting in a week and then my clinical will begin about two weeks after that so I won't have a lot of spare time. But I WILL finish this story, it may just take me a while. Thank you for your time. **

"Are you serious?" Quinn laughs, covering her full mouth with the back of her hand. Santana just nods in return looking slightly horrified just thinking back to it. "Who cooks naked?" Quinn can't help it now, Brittany has broken out in a full on laugh and Quinn finally loses it completely.

Santana huffs but can't help the smile that graces her face. She finally has her girls all together, life was good. "The boy clearly has some issues. I'm just glad Rachel kicked him out before I had to lay an ass kicking on him." She finishes, stealing a piece of Quinn's General Tso's chicken.

"Yeah, literally." Quinn replies, causing Brittany to collapse in a fit of giggles again, laying her hands on her stomach from all of the laughter. "So...how's Rachel been?" The hazel eyed girl asks nonchalantly.

This causes Santana to smirk knowingly. She could have her fun now. "Well you'd know if you tried keeping in touch with her. No phone calls or emails? Letters would've done the trick, she's a sap for that crap. But nope, radio silence on your end Q. You really know how to charm a lady."

"S you know it's not that simple. I-" Quinn is interrupted by Brittany voicing her need to pee. Santana stands and lets her vacate the booth, giving Quinn time to think over her response. "She has everything she's dreamed of since she was little San. I can't take that away from her." Quinn looks to her glass of water, watching the condensation roll down it.

"How would you do that?" Santana questions.

"I want her to love me. More than anything I want her to kiss me and be able to lay with her at night. But this is only temporary Santana. In a month I'll be gone. Hell in two weeks I'll be back in Lima to see my mom." She takes this time to gulp down some of her water, the cold helped calm her nerves.

Santana seems to be mulling her words over. "So momma Judes found herself a man, huh?" The raven haired girl replies instead. Quinn chokes on her water and stares in disbelief.

"She told you that?" Quinn eats some noodles from Santana's plate.

"Yep. We were chatting away about how you only contact us once a week and she said Don told her it was just you discovering your freedom. Sounds like a typical shrink." Santana stood to let Brittany back in the booth.

Quinn knew her mom was seeing someone. Judy had told her when she came home that the house would be holding another person. At first Quinn panicked, fearing that her father had come home and persuaded Judy to take him back, but her mother soothed her worries by telling her she had met Don at the store. Her mother had been crying at the store because she had just returned from Quinn's graduation, Don had consoled her and even asked her to lunch. At first Quinn was fearful he was taking advantage until she found out he was a psychologist. But she didn't wind up being his patient, she did end up becoming his girlfriend though. Don seemed like an okay character after that.

"Are you almost done? I want to get home and show Quinn the pictures of the ducks we took at the park." Brittany smiled and Santana placed a gentle kiss on her cheek.

"Of course baby." Santana went to get doggie bags while Brittany tugged Quinn out of the restaurant. While Brittany talked animatedly about all of the buildings nearby Santana trudged up the stairs and managed to hail them a cab.

"What, you can't manage to walk anymore Lopez?" Quinn raised her eyebrow while they all climbed into the taxi, barely shutting the door before the driver took off.

Santana gave a glare and rolled her eyes. "I just ate my weight in food, there's no way I'm gonna haul my ass all the way home with my own two legs. Unless you're volunteering to carry me?"

Quinn threw her head back in laughter and patted Brittany's leg. "She's getting to be like an old lady." Brittany held tight to her hand as she started to retract it, not letting go until they pulled up to the familiar apartment building.

"Ugh I bet the diva's are home." Santana crawled out after swiping her card to pay for the ride.

Brittany took Santana's pinky in hers and drug her towards the entrance. "You love them."

"Doesn't make them any less of diva's." Came her reply.

``````````````````````````````````````````````````  
Kurt sat the still empty bucket down under the sink. "I have a better idea." He said to Rachel as she raced back to the kitchen. "Let's head to the store on the corner and get three giant slushies, we can fill the bucket and put it in the fridge once Santana goes to bed. We'll set it up a few minutes before her alarm goes off."

Rachel's smile turned wicked and she threw her arms around Kurt. They laughed and twirled in the kitchen before breaking apart. "I'll get my shoes!" She called, heading towards her room.

"Hurry before they get back and we have to explain ourselves!" He called to her, turning when he heard keys and chatter coming from the door. "Too late." He whispered and yelled to Rachel, "Mission abort! We'll have to do it when they go to sleep!" Then the door slid open revealing Santana and Brittany except they weren't talking to each other.

"The ducks are so cute. I named one Frank because he looks like a hotdog. You know the BallPark Frank?" Brittany turned to smile at the blonde standing behind her. The girl beamed back and her eyes fell on Kurt.

"Hey Kurt." She says it so lightly and he can't help but gape a little. She looks different somehow. Of course everyone looks different if you haven't seen them in a year but it was something else. She looked happy but nervous. Nervousness was something her rarely ever saw on this girl.

"Hey." He manages before clearing his throat and trying again. "Well come here." He corrected, opening his arms. She shook her head with a smile and hugged him briefly. "You look good soldier." Kurt then mock saluted her. This didn't annoy her, she thought it was nice that they could all be so easy going together.

She returned it and glanced to the cupboard where the bucket was sitting. Raising her eyebrow she looked to him causing him to blush and slam it shut with his foot. Quinn was very intrigued by that response. "What are you up to?" She whispered so that the two girls who had disappeared into the living room wouldn't hear.

He glanced in their direction and noticed they were playing thumb wars. "We can't talk here." He whispered back. "Meet me here tonight when they've gone to bed." She narrowed her eyes but then smiled and held her hand out for him to shake. He gripped it just as a door closed and foot steps came running towards the kitchen and living room.

"I'm ready to go Kurt, I brought extra money just in case- oh hello girls! I didn't hear you come in." Rachel said cheerily, nerves seeping into her voice. Santana's grunt could be heard which caused Quinn to giggle. "Kurt?" Rachel called. "Was that you?" She asked baffled. That was quite a feminine laugh after all.

"Shoo Berry." Was Santana's interjection.

``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````

Rachel walked into the kitchen leaving the two girls to finish their battle. She thought it was cute that they could find enjoyment together in such little things. The giggle from the kitchen had caught her off guard. She was distracted by her plan with Kurt that she wasn't thinking that a possible blonde could be in there with him.

She rounded the corner towards the dining room and collided with a body. Strong hands held her upright and her words of advice for Kurt to watch where he walked died on her lips. She found herself peering into hazel eyes, the very pair that were in her dreams, the same from the airport. "Quinn." She breathed, not realizing the woman in question had just hauled her back to a normal standing position. They were so close she could feel the girls breath on her face.

"Hello Rachel." Quinn said with a smile that turned to a smirk.

Rachel simply let out a breath that sounded like a cry and a laugh. "Quinn. God I've missed you! I'm so sorry I didn't come to your graduation! If I would have know that your AIT was so long then I would have been there." She had nuzzled into Quinn's neck and had caught the shiver than ran through the soldier when she was talking. She smiled a watery smiled and heard Quinn's broken chuckle.

"No worries, it was pretty boring and so not worth the cost of a plane ticket." She inhaled the scent of the diva's hair.

"And now you tell us." Santana interrupted. It was like a slushie facial, they both jerked away and blushed. Their embrace was far from friendly and anyone with eyes could see it. "Hmm. Well before you two start making out, at least let Britt-Britt show you her pictures." Brittany jumped from the couch like a light bulb had went off in her head and grabbed Quinn's arm, leading her towards the shared room. Quinn mouthed 'sorry' to Rachel before they slipped into the hallway.

Rachel glowered at Santana. "Was that really necessary? You've had all day to spend with her and she writes to you. That's the first time I've spoken to her in almost a year!"

Santana reached for the remote and flipped on a cartoon. "Go creep on her in our room then, Britt will be done soon." She replied, bored with the conversation already.

"You're unbelievable!" Rachel stomped her foot and marched to the room the two blondes were in.

She slowly opened the door and before she went off into a rant about Santana's rudeness she paused. Brittany had pulled up a chair for Quinn to sit on while she flipped through pictures of not just ducks, but all over New York. Places they'd been that Rachel didn't even know she had documented. Places that clearly were so Quinn. Quinn looked at the pictures in awe while Brittany told the stories, however she was more drawn to watching the girl sat beside her. She just smiled with tears in her eyes and looked so proud. Rachel decided that she wasn't going to interrupt the moment and instead watched on as they flipped through photo's and adventures were told. She observed the girl in front of her. She sat up straight with her hands neatly in her lap, her sock bun was perfect, not a hair out of place. Rachel couldn't help but find her sexy, it was hard not to before, and now with the uniform she found it incredibly difficult to remove her eyes from the blonde's form. A strange pang in her heart erupted when she saw the blonde's tab on her arm. It looked like a cartoon bomb and 'EOD' was stitched below it.

After about thirty minutes of just standing in the doorway, oblivious to the pair and outside world she shifted her weight and the floorboard creaked. They both snapped their heads in her direction. "How long have you been there?" Quinn asked softly.

"I just got here." Rachel fibbed. "Just wanted to see what you were up to." She walked into the room fully, leaving the door open.

"Quinn and me were looking at all of these pictures I've been taking. There are tons more but we can finish later!" Brittany kissed Quinn's forehead and padded over to Rachel. "You guys can talk in here."And with that, the door was closed tight.

Rachel felt incredibly nervous, while Quinn found the floor to be interesting. Rachel heard a sigh, "Come here." Quinn commanded, which Rachel followed, dropping to the seat Brittany vacated. Quinn let out a nervous laugh and began. "I don't want this to be awkward and I know that you have questions. You're probably wondering why I didn't contact you." Quinn stated it like a fact, Rachel nodded her head in affirmation so the blonde continued. "I wanted you to have a fresh start. To experience New York like you've always dreamed. Basic was hell and so was AIT. You didn't need any of my negativity dragging you down." Quinn finished sadly.

Rachel took Quinn's hands in hers. "I came here with Brittany and Santana. Kurt joined us and really the only person missing was you, Quinn. Hearing from you would've only made my times here better." Quinn tried to look away but Rachel reached her hand up and brought the girls eyes back to hers. "I'm not mad, I was just upset. Well worried is probably a better description. I didn't know if I had done something or that perhaps my appearance at the airport had been too much."

"Rachel I loved that you showed up, it put my mind at ease." Quinn answered truthfully.

Rachel blushed and bit her lip, not missing how Quinn's eyes drew to the action. She decided to break this up before something happened, so she let the girl's hands drop and clapped hers together. "It's great to have you back Quinn. We've all missed you, now we better get back out there or they'll think you've decided to join the Army just to get away from me."

Quinn laughed and gasped, putting her hand to her chest. "Me? Never have you irritated me enough to cause such an action." Rachel slapped her lightly and they made their way to the living area with smiles adorning their faces.

`````````````````````````````````````````````````````

"About damn time." Santana proclaimed standing up. They both looked at the cake that was on the coffee table. "We thought you guys were fuc-" A sharp elbow to her ribs from Brittany stopped the latina, "Fighting. We thought you were fighting. Britts got you a cake loser." Santana stepped out of the way for Quinn to look. She slowed to a halt and felt the tears sting her eyes. She engulfed Brittany in a hug and sniffled. "Thank you." She said.

The cake was in Army camo and read 'You're the bomb!' The exclamation point was a cartoon bomb.

The group decided to gather round and dig in, Kurt sitting on the chair that faced away from the door, while Brittany and Santana cuddled on the biggest couch. Quinn and Rachel were packed onto the loveseat and their hands had unknowingly entwined.

Once they had their fill in cake they continued to sit around, enjoying eachother's company. "So you're always going on about Martinez and I gotta ask why you think we're so alike." Santana said whilst stroking Brittany's hair, the girl was fast asleep on Santana's chest.

"It's hard to explain. You guys are just so similar. Are you sure you weren't cloned?" Quinn asks and Rachel laughs, resting her head on the taller girl's shoulder.

"Oh god no, please tell me there aren't anymore Santana's roaming this earth. One is enough." Kurt inquired from his spot.

"Yeah and like you aren't already enough. I have to share this place with two of the biggest drama queen's." Santana nudged Brittany awake. "B, are you ready for bed?" She asked sweetly. Everyone melted at the interaction. Brittany yawned and smiled which brought Santana to her feet, gently helping Brittany up. The dancer looked to Quinn and walked to her, bending down to hug her goodnight. "Please don't leave while I'm asleep." She said it with such innocence and sadness that Quinn felt her heart break.

"I promise, B." The dancer turned and led the way for Santana.

"Night losers." Santana threw over her shoulder.

The air seemed tense until they heard the door close. A few moments later and the entire apartment was quiet. Quinn went to open her mouth but Rachel clamped her hand over it, Smiling at Quinn and bringing her finger up in a shushing motion. A few seconds later they heard a fan click on and then the rustling of covers stopped. Kurt who had looked exhausted earlier, shot up and headed for the closet. "We have to hurry just in case Santana can't sleep. The store is right around the corner so it won't take long." During his speech Quinn watched as Rachel raced to throw on her shoes, Quinn remained seated however.

"What's going on?" She was more than confused.

"No time to talk!" Rachel walked up with her combat boots in hand and slipped them on Quinn's feet.

"I can put my own boots on Berry." Quinn says it with love and a smirk.

"Okay Fabray." Rachel pokes her right where her last name is on her uniform. "I just figured since you weren't moving you needed a little help." Rachel said playfully.

"I can think of a few things you could help me with." Quinn said it before she realized and waited for Rachel's response.

The girl was still tying her boots when she looked up, a blush was evident on her darker skin, and she raised her eyebrows. "What kinds of things would that be Fabray?" Rachel said it so suggestively and Quinn felt her heart flutter. Before she could answer the singer had finished tying her boots and was holding her hand out. Quinn took it graciously and was surprised when Rachel didn't let go. They walked out of the door that Kurt slid open for them, not noticing his curious smile.

````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````

Kurt had filled Quinn in on their brilliant plan on the way to buy the slushies. He was noticing that Rachel and Quinn couldn't seem to keep their hands off of one another. At first the hand holding was enough, but now it seemed like they needed more contact. Rachel would add into the story of their plan and Quinn would sweep hair out of Rachel's face, while when Quinn laughed at something Kurt said Rachel would lean in and nuzzle the girl's neck. He was interested in what might go down so he knew it was his mission to watch the two closely.

They exited the store with three giant cherry slushies and all were laughing. Not long ago the two would have cringed at the sight of Quinn with a slushie in hand but not now. Rachel's laughter was the first to slowly die off and Kurt and Quinn looked at her suspiciously. Kurt spotted the culprit. Brody was crossing the opposite street that led to their apartments. Kurt was torn between going to stop him so that the girls could discuss it in private for a moment but thought otherwise. It wouldn't make sense for Kurt to go talk to him when Rachel was clearly with them. "You better get to him before he goes in and knocks. Waking her up now would ruin it, not to mention we have three very large slushies that cannot be explained.

Rachel sighed and smiled softly towards Quinn. "I'll be right back." And took off towards the boy.

Kurt didn't know how to start but luckily Quinn saved him. "That's Brody, right?"

"Yeah." He said lamely. The happy mood was quickly draining from Quinn's stance. "I don't think she knew that he was going to come over, otherwise she would have canceled with him obviously."

"Obviously?" Quinn asks. "She can spend time with her boyfriend Kurt."

Kurt sighs. "I know Santana has explained that they aren't official. Rachel says that they're young and it's a modern relationship. I'm not sure but hey, don't let this ruin you time! Just imagine Santana's face in the morning." He links his arm through her and looks to see her smiling.

"Priceless." She says, they lock eyes and begin laughing. "Let's go get this set up." She begins walking towards Rachel and Brody. "Why is she into giants?" Quinn speaks to Kurt before they arrive. He shrugs and they both crack up.

"And what's so funny?" Rachel asks with her hands on her hips.

Kurt looks to her with big eyes, "Quinn was just trying to figure out your taste in men." He replies, his face contorting with laughter he is hiding.

"Were those your words Quinn?" She glares at the girl in question.

"I believe I asked why you were attracted to giants." She mumbles the ending and they both lose it. Rachel huffs but can't help the small smile.

She gets back into character, pretending to be mad. "I'll have you know that Brody," She gestures to the man standing behind her, who smiles and waves a little in return, "is not as tall as Finn!"

They both stop for a moment to stare and when they see that she has stepped back next to him they laugh even harder. The height difference is more visible now. "Very mature." She turns and grabs the door handle. "Let's get up there before Satan smells an opportunity to come down here and join in." Rachel holds the door for them all to go in but before Quinn goes through she touches Rachel's hand.

"I'm sorry. We were only messing around. Forgive me?" Quinn is so sincere that Rachel has to drop the act.

"I'm an actress Quinn, I knew you both were only teasing. At least now I know my abilities are superb." She motions the girl to go in, catching her hand to hold while they take the stairs.

````````````````````````````````````````````````

"Are you guys sure she won't care? I mean I didn't even do anything to her and she blew up this morning." Brody stands by the kitchen entrance and watches as they fill the bucket with the slushies.

Quinn snorts, earning her a look from Rachel and Kurt. "She's just funny about new people." Quinn says, in hopes of making it up to Brody for laughing at his mishap. "Give her some time. I'm Quinn Fabray by the way." Quinn sticks her hand out and Brody smiles, shaking it firmly.

"Ahh they're always talking about you. I remember Rachel talked about you the first day we met. I was excited to meet you but then she told me you joined the Army. Bummer." He finishes but must realize he spoke about her joining like it was a bad thing. "Well I mean- I'm sorry that came out wrong." Quinn smiles and waves a hand dismissively. "I'm Brody-" He tries but is cut off

"I know." Quinn smiles genuinely, "Rachel has told me all about you." She lies. Rachel hasn't told her anything about him. Santana has mostly and none of it was positive. Quinn just wants to be a good friend to Rachel, and if Rachel likes him then she was going to make it look good.

"Well I'm honored to meet you." He declares. "It's not everyday I get to meet a badass woman like yourself. When Rachel told me what you do I was really impressed. You have to be really smart to make it through that course from what I've read." Brody follows them towards the bathroom door.

"It was hard but worth it." Quinn says, hoping to be done talking to him. She wanted to be friendly but she didn't want to talk about her life with him.

"Can you go grab a chair Brody?" Rachel asks, hoping to get the man away so he'll let up on the personal questions towards Quinn.

"I got it babe." He says placing a hand on her lower back and removing the bucket from her hands. He reaches up, working on positioning it perfectly. Quinn clenches her jaw at the term of endearment, "So you're not afraid of getting blown up I take it?" He asks it jokingly and maybe if one of Quinn's closest friends had asked her she wouldn't have minded; even then it'd be questionable. Coming from him though? She sees red but manages to suppress it.

"Excuse me." Quinn heads for the kitchen, only catching the sounds of a hushed argument beginning.

Kurt looks up from where he's cleaning off the slushie that dripped on the counter and floor and smiles at Quinn. "I was worried seeing these again would bring back horrible memories." He motions to the plastic cups stacked together on the counter. "However all I feel is sweet revenge in my heart." He shoots her a grin which she returns weakly.

"I'm feeling pretty tired. I take it you have another bathroom in here since Rachel hasn't done her routine yet?" Quinn starts to walk towards the hall. Kurt can sense something is off but doesn't want to push her to talk.

"There's a community one on each floor, just in case we need repairs done and are without a bathroom. Do you want me to show it to you?" He asks in hopes of getting her out of the apartment for a chance to ask her what's wrong in private.

"No thanks, I'll find it." She smiles dimly at him and heads away from the hall and exits the apartment.

Kurt hears footsteps and goes back to cleaning the spotless counter, hoping that he'll be able to figure out what the hell happened.

"I was joking Rachel, she knows that!" Brody says sternly.

"She doesn't! It's hard enough being away from her friends and family, then you come here and say that. Out of everything I've told you about her does she really seem like someone to joke around about that?" Rachel has fire in her eyes.

"Look I'm sorry, let me talk to her. I didn't think-" He tries to explain but Rachel points to the door.

"You're right. You didn't. Please leave." She doesn't even give him a glance.

"Rachel." He practically begs.

"Now Brody." She looks at him and they stay locked in a heated gaze before his shoulders slump and his face scowls. He slips on his shoes and walks out.

"What was that? And why is Quinn looking like someone kicked her dog?" Kurt asks.

"Where is she?" Rachel looks to him for an answer but gets it when she materializes in front of the door Brody just closed. "Quinn...I'm so sorry he said that. He wasn't thinking." Rachel reaches for her and the blonde allows the small hug before shrugging out of it.

"It's fine I'm just tired. Am I sleeping in your room?" Rachel nods to her question and Quinn goes to find the other girl's room.

"What happened? You guys were so chipper all night? What did Brody say?" Kurt was getting irritated now.

"He was joking around and got carried away. He stated that she must not be afraid to get blown up." Rachel looks so disappointed. "How stupid can he be Kurt? He shouldn't have said that, I've told him how reserved she is! As if that thought isn't going to constantly be on her mind!" She is gripping the counter now with all of her force.

"Hey why don't we both head to bed? I'm sure some sleep will help you calm down and maybe you two can talk before you fall asleep, yeah?

"Okay." She says and lets him hold her tight. She sighs against his chest.

"Plus we have to get up and watch out master plan unfold." He says deviously.

``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````

Rachel tip toed as quietly as she could into her bedroom, it was pitch dark inside but she left the light off. Normally she wouldn't have to but she was fearful that Quinn was already sleeping. If the girl was already upset, she really didn't want to wake her and see how lack of sleep affected her mood.

"Rachel?" Quinn said while attempting to keep her voice low.

"Yeah, it's me." She responded, giving up on her quiet approach, Rachel walked the rest of the way to her bed. Before she made it though, her foot connected with something warm and firm causing her to trip and halfway fall on her bed and floor.

The thing she tripped on turned out to be Quinn, who was now in a ball on the floor after letting out a painful grunt. Rachel turned and slid down next to the girl. "Quinn why are you laying on the floor?"

A half laugh, half grunt was the first response. "Why did you kick me? You must really take expressions literally." Quinn sat up while Rachel gently rubbed her back.

"You know I would never do that! And what expression are you referring to?" She asked as she stood, helping Quinn to her feet.

"Kicking someone while they're down." Quinn said laughing, and hugging Rachel.

"Oh Quinn, I'm so sorry he said that. Sometimes Brody thinks that he's instantly best friends with everyone. He doesn't understand that not everyone is an open book like him."

"Can we just lay down? I'm actually pretty beat." Quinn confessed, simultaneously trying to end this discussion.

"Of course! I've forgotten how busy your day has been!" Rachel let Quinn crawl into bed before she ran around to the other side and pulled the cover over herself. "Goodnight Quinn."

"Goodnight Berry." Quinn's response had a smile in it.

`````````````````````````````````````````````````````

Sleep did not come quick. In fact, it had yet to come at all and every time she checked the clock she grew more frustrated. It was 3:47 AM and she still had more than two hours before Santana's alarm would go off. She sighed and flipped over facing Quinn's back.

"You do know that you're not very subtle with your anger?" Quinn spoke in a croaky voice and turned over to face Rachel. "Hi." She said, the light from outside barely illuminating her face.

"Hi." Rachel seconded. "Did I wake you?" She truly hoped not. Her plan was to find the perfect sleeping position and get a nice two hours in.

"Nah, I couldn't keep asleep. Your bed is really comfy compared to the beds I've been sleeping on." Quinn propped herself up on her elbow; Rachel mimicked the action.

"I can imagine. I'm want to apologize again for earlier." Rachel looked to Quinn expecting an answer but the girl just stared at her.

"Why? You didn't say it and I know that Brody didn't mean it." She went back to lying her head on her pillow, staring up at the ceiling.

"It still doesn't excuse it though." Rachel stared at the girl who began smiling.

"I am afraid though." Quinn answered, turning her head to look Rachel in the eyes. "The way that he said it made me realize that maybe all of you think I'm fearless but I'm not Rachel. I'm terrified. I'm confident that I'll do my job and get it done but that doesn't mean that I'm not afraid." Rachel reaches forward and caresses Quinn's cheek. The soldier leans into the touch. "I know that I've made a lot of mistakes in my life, especially when it comes to you and I. I'll never be able to make it up to you for everything that I've done. And I don't expect you to forgive me for all of it, but can I ask for another chance? Even though I've had about a million already?" Quinn is on the brink of tears and it breaks Rachel.

"Quinn I forgave you a long time ago. I won't forget what happened in the past but I know that you're not that person anymore." The blonde smiles and it affects Rachel straight to her core. "We're friends, right?" She asks tentatively.

"I hope so." Quinn breathes out. "Why?"

"Because I'm going to need you to protect me from Santana later." Rachel squeaks out causing them both to laugh. Rachel pokes Quinn in the side which makes her squirm and shove Rachel playfully. "This is not a laughing matter Quinn Fabray! I don't know why Kurt and I even decided to do this! And why didn't you talk us out of it!?" Rachel pushes Quinn back and then flails reaching to stop Quinn from falling off of the bed.

The blonde simply laughs more while Rachel secures her back in her original spot. "Hey I'm just an innocent bystander." She holds her hands up in surrender.

Rachel gasps and swats at them. "You put a slushie in too! I'll be sure to let her know that." Grinning she lays back down but feels someone tickle her side, causing her to scream. "Stop! Stop!" Quinn continues until they hear a door slam causing them to halt all shenanigans.

Quinn has Rachel help tight from behind while they both freeze and stare at the person who flung their door open. "Do you mind? I'm trying to sleep and you two are keeping me and probably the rest of the block awake!" Kurt stage whispers.

Another slam is heard and this time they all watch as the far hall is lit up, followed by the living room and then their hall. Kurt grimaces at the sudden flood of light. His eyes widen comically as Santana stomps towards them and flicks their light on, causing them both to snap their eyes shut and roll to their spots on the bed. "Gross, was that some kind of weird foreplay? Nope wait don't even think about answering it. I don't care. I do care that I'm trying to gets my sleep on and all I can hear is some freaks getting it on." Santana turns to leave but Quinn speaks up.

"We weren't 'getting it on' Santana." Quinn defends.

"Shut up, I've gotta pee." Santana makes her way from the room and everyone is frozen with shock. They all quickly scramble towards the door when they see their hall light being turned off and 'go back to bed B, I'll be right there' being whispered sweetly.

They scramble from the room earning them an odd look from Brittany, and watch as Santana reaches for the door. Quinn points to the top of the door and Brittany follows and spots the red plastic bucket. She tilts her head to the side. "San-" Quinn stands in front of her and shakes her head excessively.

They duck back into the dark and Santana turns. "Yeah B?" She asks in a sweet tone.

Brittany looks once more to them and smiles. "Can you hurry?" She asks causing the darker girl to smile and nod. They all watch in anticipation as she grabs the handle and pulls, the cherry slushy rains down on her in a fountain of freezing revenge. She gasps and even jumps a little, but stands stock still with her mouth open, slushie dripping into it.

The four of them lose it at the display and literally fall over one another in a fit of laughter. Santana scowls but remains where she is. Kurt is lying on Quinn who is in a heap on the floor laughing with tears while Brittany holds onto Rachel, balancing them both so they don't fall over.

Finally the girl speaks up, "What. The hell. Is this." She states with such anger that they all pause but she looks like a wet kitten and continue to double over. Santana wipes it from her face and stares in disbelief. Then she cocks her head to the side. "This was your idea wasn't it?" She looks to Quinn who is now being pulled to her feet by Kurt. "Oh Fabray you are in for one hell of a week." She threatens, walking towards her and leaving puddles of slushie in her wake. "Prank wars? Really? Oh it's so on." Santana smiles with her teeth and walks into the bathroom, slamming the door.

"Is she really mad about it?" Kurt says as he continues laughing.

Quinn smiles back. "No, she's always wanted a prank war since we were little, right B?"

Brittany nods "Yeah, but you know that we'll have to be on teams right?" Brittany walks over to the coffee table and picks up a pen and scrap paper. "We'll keep score and whatever team wins gets something at the end of the week."

Kurt begins retreating to his room, "How about cleaning duty for a month?" He tosses over his shoulder, not bothering to listen for a reply as he closes his door.

"That would work!" Brittany looks to Quinn, "But what about Quinn? She doesn't live here."

Rachel smiles at Brittany. "I'll be her partner, I will take on all of the duties single handedly if we lose."

"But we won't Berry." Quinn nudges her, shifting her head towards Rachel's room. "Goodnight!" Quinn hugs the tall dancer and snags Rachel's hand who follows close.

"Goodnight! Sweet dreams!" Brittany calls.

Closing the door, Rachel watches as Quinn literally throws herself on the bed and looks to Rachel with a smirk. "You could just take a picture. Or would you prefer to paint me like one of your French girls?"

Rachel huffs, turning a dark shade before shutting the light off. "Did you just quote The Titanic at me?" She lays more gracefully next to the blonde.

"Maybe. So you really want to be my partner for this? You must have a lot of faith in me." Quinn starts to get comfortable, feeling exhaustion take over her.

"I feel that it's important to bond. I'm not sure when I'll get to see you again after this month and being on your team will allow me to get to know you better. And I happen to know from first hand experience just how creative you can get." Rachel doesn't mean it as an insult so she quickly adds, "And no Quinn, please don't apologize I was just merely stating that it will be beneficial for me."

"Well I'm going to anyways. I'm sorry." She yawns, feeling sleep begin to take her. "Santana can be creative and ruthless. Don't be surprised if this week of pranks doesn't continue for longer. And for the record I'll only be here for two weeks. I forgot I only mentioned it to Santana. My mom needs a visit and what not."

Rachel tries not to let it get her down. She understands that Quinn had more people to visit, she only wished that they could spend more time together. "Could you stop to check in on my fathers? I worry that they're going crazy without me there." When no response came she gently nudged the blonde who mumbled some nonsense. The short singer smiled lovingly at the blonde.

``````````````````````````````````````````````````

When morning came Quinn woke up with a strong arm around her waist. She could hear light snoring and held in her laughter. Carefully, she managed to slip out from under the smaller girl, taking a few seconds to take in the sight before her. The singer had her legs wrapped in the covers halfway while her hair cascaded across her back. Her face was squished against her pillow making her look absolutely adorable. Quinn felt her heart beat wildly and decided she had done enough staring so she made her way to the kitchen, noticing how quiet it had gotten once she appeared.

Kurt was standing behind the counter while Brittany and Santana both ate waffles at it. Santana had a wild look in her eyes, determination was in the air. "Fabray." She spat around her waffle filled mouth.

"Lopez." She grabbed a plate and went to get a waffle but stopped when she heard snickering. "What are you up to?" She narrowed her eyes at the darker girl.

"Who me? What would I be up to?" Santana feigned innocence.

"Riiiiiight. No waffles then." Quinn put the plate and silverware back.

Kurt began to address her. "So you and Rachel are paired up whilst Santana and Brittany are a team. Is that correct?" He asked as she grabbed a coffee mug and began filling it.

"Yeah, why?" She brought the liquid to her mouth and took a giant gulp.

"Just wanted to be certain before I warned you." He walked into the living room while she quickly looked to Santana.

"Warned me about what?" Her response was a snarl and huge smile. "Kurt?!" He reappeared just as her mouth landed in the fiery pits of hell. "OH MY GOD! WHAT DID YOU PUT IN THIS?" The blonde lisped out, rushing to the fridge for the milk.

Santana sauntered over, "Oh you know, just a little of this and a little of that." She patted her friends back hard just as she was swallowing the milk, causing her to choke and spit it out. "Enjoy it." She laughed and took her offered purse from Brittany while stealing a kiss, not missing a beat. "I'm off to meet someone. Later bitches." Popping her head back through the door she added on, "Bye Quinnie." With a wave and wink.

"Kurt what does that give us?" Brittany asked.

"Well as official judge I'll award you with one point. Considering you didn't get Rachel and Santana was the one who put the plan in motion without help. But next time if you help it's double points and if you get both then it's triple." He grabbed her plate and scooped on another waffle. "Eat up!" He said with a smile, while Quinn had abandoned the milk and was rushing to the sink for water. "Oh the sink water isn't working, try the community bathroom!" Kurt supplied, watching Quinn run off.

Rachel walked out yawning and stretching. She looked around the kitchen and turned to Kurt in question. "Where's Quinn? I thought I heard her out here?"

"She's using the community bathroom, our sink isn't working." He scooped another waffle up and put it on a fresh plate. "Vegan friendly."

She leaned in and kissed his cheek, relieving him of the plate. "You're the perfect gentleman." She sat it by Brittany. "May I sit with you?" Rachel asked, the girl didn't take her eyes from her plate but nodded. Rachel found this strange but shook it off. Worrying slightly that maybe the prank from last night had caused her to fight with Santana. She poured herself a cup of coffee and returned. Cutting up her waffle she began to speak. "I apologize if what happened last night led to you and Santana arguing in any way. We only meant for it to be a joke but I know that Santana can be sensitive at times." Rachel took a bite then and when she swallowed it went down funny. Coughing she went on. "I will let Quinn know that the pranking is off immediately. I'm sorry Brittany." She still couldn't clear her throat so she took a healthy drink of coffee right as Quinn slid the door open. Rachel smiled at her. "Quinn! I was just informing Brittany that we are going to stop the pranking so that it doesn't cause anymore disputes between her and San-"

"What are you drinking?" Quinn asks in slight horror, stepping forward and grabbing the cup. "Really Kurt? They already got me." Quinn walked over to pour out the cup.

"Quinn what are you doing? Kurt?" Rachel looked to him and she knew right then. "What did you do?" Rachel turned to Brittany who was finally looking at her and laughing.

"It was San. She made the coffee hot!" Brittany explained and then corrected, "Spicy hot."

Rachel rushed to the sink but then remembered what Kurt had said and wondered why she hadn't questioned why Quinn had needed the sink so badly. Surely she could have used a bathroom sink, but as the heat sank in she understood that thinking was becoming increasingly difficult. Quinn grabbed her hand and led her towards their bathroom. "Yours are much cleaner than the community one." Quinn supplied and Rachel knew that was true. Disturbingly so.

Once the door was opened Rachel turned the cold water on full blast and stuck her mouth underneath the spout. Quinn closed the door and leaned against it. "We have to get them back. God I should've known she'd pull that, it's a classic Santana move, the girl knows her spices. Are you okay?" She steps up to Rachel and gently places her hand on the divas lower back causing the girl to shudder. She makes a sound that sounds like a yes. Rachel shuts off the water after a few minutes, realizing Quinn hasn't removed her hand, they lock eyes in the mirror. Rachel's mind is rushing trying to find out what the other girl is thinking about; Quinn seems content to just stare at the girl. Quinn blushes crimson and removes her eyes and hands. Clearing her throat she begins "Right, well we need to get her back." Quinn goes back to leaning against the door. "Any suggestions?"

```````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````

"I knew somewhere in there was a mean side, Berry." Quinn laughed as Rachel continued to tear off and tape plastic wrap between the hall entrance.

The week had flown by, and with everyone busy with classes and work, the pranking had moved to the bottom of the priority list. Quinn had met Santana a few times for lunch between the latina's classes. She was cautious and even managed to avoid being tripped into a pond. Santana called it fair play but Rachel had argued that it wasn't a prank. This led to Kurt having to hold a mock court room trial. Rachel had won once she argued about bringing up a PowerPoint. With Brittany and Rachel so focused on work and school they didn't have any time to participate in the few failed attempts. It was deemed unfair to prank someone if they had class that morning because Brittany put shampoo in her hair that was dyed with grape kool aid. Her hair was still faintly purple.

Rachel smiled over her shoulder before returning to her project. "Well to be fair you were the one to come up with the spider idea. I still find it incredibly hilarious that she is petrified of spiders. Although the fake one you bought is hard to believe." Rachel finished wrapping and motioned for them to hide. "Alright text her."

Quinn sent out a text asking for Santana to get her a book from her backpack. "She won't even think about the size, as long as it looks like a spider she'll freak." They heard walking and a quiet zipping sound.

A high pitched scream echoed through the apartment and the door was flung open. Santana rushed, attempting to exit the hall and possibly building altogether but failed to see the clear plastic wrap. Her body bounced off of it and she sailed onto her butt with a solid thump.

"AHHH WHAT THE FUCK!" She screeched.

"San it's not-" Brittany walked out with the fake spider in her hand causing Santana to tear through the wrap using her fingers.

She dove to safety next to a laughing Rachel and Quinn. "PUT IT DOWN! WHY IS THAT IN YOUR BAG?" She yelled to Quinn. Her eyes were wild but then she looked to them, infuriated. "YOU FUCKERS!" She pushed Quinn off of the couch. "It's fake?" She asked Brittany who nodded in return. "Oh I hate you!" She dove to Quinn and was hitting her lightly, making her laugh loudly.

"Alright, alright, get off me." Quinn shoved her happily and Santana smiled. She knew what was coming next. "Look," Quinn stood up and looked at Rachel before looking to Brittany who Santana nodded at to sit by her. They all crammed onto the small couch. "I know that the original plan was for me to stay for a month but I still have to see my mom and now she wants me back sooner because my sister is coming to visit for the week. I didn't want to upset you guys but after dinner Santana is going to take me to the airport." Quinn watched as both Rachel and Brittany slowly lost their smiles.

"But why can't you come back after you're done there?" Brittany asked softly, tears were collecting.

"Britt we talked about this, she has to go back after her month is up." Santana was shrugged off by Brittany.

"Why do you have to go back? We're here Quinn. In New York, where you should be." Brittany looks at Quinn deeply. "You can stay, we have plenty of room." Everyone knows that Brittany understands that Quinn has to leave but she's not ready to accept it.

Quinn just holds out her hand and helps the dancer to her feet and they hold onto each other. When they split up Brittany smiles. "Can I come to the airport with you guys?" Quinn nods a yes.

Rachel stands and smooths out her skirt. "I know that I speak for everyone when I say that you will be missed. Now I'll begin to prepare dinner so if you'll excuse me." And the diva leaves without a moment to spare.

"Ugh Q go see what her deal is." Santana runs her hands over her face.

````````````````````````````````````````````````````````

Quinn walks into the kitchen careful to not upset the other girl. Meanwhile Rachel rushes around it, making a vegan spaghetti sauce. She jumps a little when she sees the blonde approaching her. "Oh you startled me." Rachel gasps, placing a hand to her heart. "I'm making spaghetti, I hope that's alright." She reaches for some spices that are in the highest shelf of the cupboard. She feels a body press into her own and both girls shudder at the feeling. Quinn grabs the seasoning down, and steps back some.

"You're mad." She states as a fact.

Sighing Rachel turns around, placing her hands against the sink. "I'm disappointed Quinn. You're doing it again!" She steps forward as Quinn rolls her eyes and turns around to pace.

"I'm not doing anything. I have to go and see my family, Frannie is only going to be there for a week and my mom wants me to be there."

Rachel snags Quinn's arm to stop the pacing. "How long have you known?"

"Since this morning. I would've told all of you sooner but Santana said Britt would be sad and I thought you might be too. It was to avoid unnecessary drama." Quinn pinches the bridge of her nose.

"Oh you mean like the problem we're having right now?" Rachel laughs at their situation. "You're right, I just wanted to spend more time with you, it's upsetting that you're going to be gone but there's always Skype and email I suppose." Rachel pouts at Quinn which causes the soldier to laugh.

"And phone calls, Rachel." She adds.

"I thought you may want to save your one phone call for someone important." Rachel lightly shoves Quinn.

"Hey! It's not like prison." Quinn walks behind the counter and slides into a seat. "And Rachel?" The diva snaps to attention. "You are important."

Blushing softly Rachel returns to her sauce. "I know, I just wanted to hear you say it."

```````````````````````````````````````````````````````````

Dinner went by faster than anyone cared for, Kurt was still at work but Quinn and Santana had visited him to say goodbye earlier that day. They were all loaded into a taxi and on the way to see the blonde off. After Santana threw some bills at the driver, complaining about her abuela being able to drive faster, they all headed towards Quinn's gate. Santana and Brittany lag behind, giving the girls some privacy.

"Ahh we have some memories with airports, huh?" Quinn bumps Rachel.

"Shh Quinn! I'm trying to focus on finding your gate." Rachel blushed and pretended to be preoccupied.

"Oh right, the thing that we found on the internet before we came here! The place we all are walking towards." Quinn jokes.

Rachel decides to ignore her and link their hands together instead.

Once they all arrive by her gate she rocks onto her heels. "Well it's been real Q." Santana smirks and walks to the girl. "Enjoy boring ass Lima and then the beauty that is Texas." Santana slams into her unexpectedly, propelled forward by Brittany rushing to hug. The latina is sandwiched between them and grumbling.

"I'll miss you Quinn! You're going to call and write? And skype too?" Brittany asks brightly.

"Of course. You'll keep San in line?" Quinn smirks.

Santana tries to answer but Brittany speaks over her. "I always do!" She kisses both of their cheeks. They all relax into it and Quinn spots Rachel pointing at her wrist.

"I have to go now guys." They all break apart with small smiles. "Until next time?"

"Yeah."

"Of course!" Are both said at the same time.

"Are you going to hug me or just stand there?" Quinn asks Rachel.

"I'll probably just stand here." Rachel says, which earns her an eye rolling from Quinn, who steps up to her and hugs her. "Skype, emails, and calls. Don't be mad when I start to irritate you Berry."

"It's okay, I'll just fake illness." Rachel says.

"Then you'll have the Army after you." She banters back.

"Just one member of it. I think I can take her, she's not very tough." Rachel feels Quinn smile into her neck.

"No? Huh, I guess once you get done doing all of the chores for a month you will be pretty strong." Quinn snipes.

Rachel pulls back enough to look at the beautiful girls face. She mock gasps, "How was I supposed to know that if someone was injured during a prank then it didn't count. And to be fair Santana only bled a little when she cut her leg on the floor."

"How did that even happen? She fell on her ass. You should definitely take it up with Kurt and have another court session. Make a PowerPoint, you'll win." Quinn flashes her teeth.

"PowerPoint is a wonderful application that helps justify and explain topics in a colorful and interesting manner! None of you appreciate the time I have put into it over the years!" Rachel explains, pretending to be offended.

"I will never take anything you do for granted again." The soldier says softly.

"We'll miss you." Rachel hugs her, willing her tears away. "I will miss you." She adds.

"This isn't goodbye, just a temporary separation."

"Are we married now?" Rachel adds.

"If we were I don't think we'd let our marriage get that bad." Quinn says it as a joke but they both feel their hearts warm, unknowing of the others feelings. "Until next time, shorty."

"I'm not that short Quinn." Rachel stomps her foot and lets go.

Quinn backs up and slings her backpack on again. She smiles toothily at all of them and waves faintly instead of answering.

Rachel continues to stare, even as Santana takes Brittany away, explaining to her why she can't go with Quinn. As Quinn is about to disappear from sight she looks back once more, eyes locking with Rachel's. Both of their hearts pound away.

```````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````

Three months in Texas was not fun. Whoever thought it was smart to station the three women there obviously was smoking something more than a cigarette, and yet here they were.

"Good lord this is boring. I've been bored before but this," Martinez motions around the base, "this shit is boring. And we have to be here for nine more months? I might die." She lays her head down on the lunch table.

"Chin up, at least we're not stuck somewhere like Alaska." Daniels adds.

"It'd be better than this shit hole." Martinez snaps.

"It'd be cold and you'd bitch about that." Quinn throws her lunch tray down. "So basketball when we're off?" Quinn directs at Daniels who smiles and nods.

"What I'm not invited?" She asks in mock hurt. "Are you sure you two aren't fucking?" She examines them.

Daniels throws a bit of bread at the other soldier. "God why do you have to be so crass? Last time we asked you and you were 'busy'. We didn't want to interrupt you again."

"Hey I have to take care of myself if no one else does." She bites into her sandwich with a smirk. "If I liked women I'd be all up on Quinn." She admires Quinn next to her, earning a kick under the table from Daniels. "You too, Daniels. Mhm." She has a smirk on her face after receiving two more kicks.

Quinn feels her phone vibrate and sees it's her C.O. She walks away from Martinez, who catcalls at her. "Hello Sergeant-"

"Come to my office Fabray." He interrupts and hangs up. She was use to him by now. He wasn't a mean man, just distant and to the point when it was needed. He reminded her of a less insane version of Sue Sylvester.

She walked over to their usual table and grabbed her tray. "Sergeant Crosby wants to see me."

"What the fuck about?" Martinez calls to her, causing her to walk back and look at her sternly.

"He's our commanding officer in case you've forgotten!" Quinn whisper yells.

"He's weird Fabray, I'm just wondering why he'd call you in all alone." Martinez looked to Daniels for approval and she shrugged at Quinn

"He is kind of weird. Just be careful around him." She smiles in encouragement.

Rolling her eyes, Quinn goes to dump her tray and find his office. The walk was long and since everyone who outranked her appeared to be out it took twice as long.

Once she made it to his office she knocked and was greeted by a booming affirmation. She saluted the tall middle aged man. "At ease." He lifted his hand towards the seat in front of his desk. "You're probably wondering why I called you in."

"Yes, Sergeant Crosby." Was her firm reply.

He drew in a deep breath and let it out in a long sigh. "You, Daniels, and Martinez have been going stir crazy. I can see it and so can everyone else. You're damn fine soldiers and why they put you here is beyond me. A few weeks back I received orders to send in a new EOD unit."

Quinn was visibly bouncing in her seat. Anywhere that wasn't here would be amazing, she didn't hate Texas, she just hated this boring base. The most she had done with her extensive training so far was transporting old ordinance out to a safe open environment, deeming what a safe perimeter was, and detonating it.

"I recommended you three, with you as their team leader. News just came back today. This is a big deal Fabray. I'm only gonna ask this once. Do you want the position as team leader?"

She feels herself nod yes before her brain has even processed the question. Realizing she hasn't given a verbal response, her brain catches up. "Yes Sergeant, it would be an honor."

He laughs, recognizing her excitement. He would correct her behavior but thinks back to his first deployment and decides to let it slide. "You'll be attaching to a Special Operations unit in Iraq. This is a very serious and rare opportunity for all of you. Don't make me regret it. You and your team will leave at the end of next week, I'll send over the documents later."

She stands and salutes him, he waves her off, "Dismissed."

Her feet find their way back to their usual table, sitting quietly next to Daniels. "Quinn?" Daniels waves a hand in front of the blonde, snapping her out of the haze.

"Huh?" Is her only response.

"What'd he want." Martinez speaks up.

"Uhh." She tries to find the right words and hears his voice. Shaking her head clear she looks at both of them. "We getting deployed." The soldiers eyes widen.

"Where?" Martinez slaps the table.

"Please don't say Alaska. The universe can't be that cruel." Daniels adds.

"She said deployed not stationed, idiot." Martinez winces at the kick.

Quinn looks to them both. "We're attaching to a Special Operations unit. I'm your team leader." She adds in. "Are you guys cool with that?"

"Yeah whatever, you're bossy anyways so it fits. Where though, team leader." Martinez jabs.

"Iraq." Quinn states firmly. Her mind runs off with it. How would she tell everyone? Her mom? Her friends? Rachel? She was excited about this opportunity, but telling people would be like playing with fire and expecting not to get burned. 


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **shaky22**\- Thank you for letting me know! **IloveDiannaAgron**\- Sorry! **ladyYamato09- **I love her too! I promise there will be plenty of action in the story. **SalGersGirl- **Thank you, it's so awesome that you let me know! My recruiter's name was Sergeant Crosby (He wasn't a creep like I made him sound in this story) which is why I wrote it that way, but you're absolutely correct and I will try not to let it happen again! **RikkuKashi-**I hope that I've fixed this problem, let me know if I haven't. (I still haven't fixed Chapter 1) To everyone else- Thank you so much for reading/reviewing/liking/following. It makes my day!**

**Also on a side note, I'm not in the military but this was the MOS that I was going to choose! My recuiter was really awesome and I'm going to get my degree FIRST. So now that you all know that I almost always talk with exclamation points...Enjoy!**

**P.S. (Have a nice Memorial Day weekend)**

**NEW YORK`````````````````````````````````````````````````````````**

Her laptop was trilling at her with the most irritating sound. Ok so maybe it wasn't as irritating to her as it used to be, it meant that someone (probably Quinn) was trying to get ahold of her via Skype. She rushed towards her shared room with Brittany and dropped onto the crappy office chair. Flipping the lid open Santana smirked at the blonde that was staring expectantly at the screen. "Always this eager, Quinnie?"

Quinn scowled, "Don't call me that." then paused. "Where is everyone?"

Santana huffed, "What I'm not good enough for you anymore? Or are you still trying to get into Berry's pants? You two have been spending a lot of time alone with this webcam..."

"Ugh shut up. I'll just call back later-" Quinn was fidling with something, Santana guessed it was probably the mouse.

"Hold up, god get your panties out of a twist."

Quinn saw everything on the screen get fuzzy and heard shuffling. The camera was unable to track all of the quick movements.

Santana dropped the computer onto the coffee table. "Happy? Kurt! Get in here! One sec he's in the kitchen."

"Where are B and Rachel?" Quinn asked while her eyebrows drew together.

"B's at work and Berry is getting ready to go releive my girl. What's so important that you- gross Hummel, dry your hands off before you come near my baby, - have to talk to everyone? Don't tell me you're doing something crazy like joining the Army." Santana laughed at her own joke. "God I'm funny." She said mostly to yourself.

"Right...well as much as I miss your humor I was actually just wondering where everyone was I didn't actually need to talk to all of you-" Quinn was interrupted by Kurt who was fighting over the laptop with Santana.

"You always hog her! It's my turn!" And she saw as Kurt rushed with her in hand, towards his room, the door clicking as he locked it. "Hi Quinn! How have you been? Any new ladies in your life?" He asked with a suggestive smile.

Santana was banging against the wooden door, clearly irritated with Kurt's theivery. "Not yet Kurt. I've been pretty well I actually needed to talk to Santana though."

He frowned and looked slightly hurt. "Sorry, I never get to talk to you, what with Brittany and Santana always talking your ear off, and don't even get me started on Rachel."

Quinn laughed full on, "I promise that I'll call you later and you can tell me all about the city and your plans for when Blaine moves there."

"Rachel told you?" He asked with a loving glint in his eyes, clearly dreaming of his life with Blaine.

"Yeah, he really does love you if he put in all of that time to graduate early so he could be with you."

"He's an angel. Much like yourself Fabray." He sighed and unlocked his door, Santana fumbled in and almost fell.

"God!" She yelled, jerking the device from his hands and glaring hard. "Don't ever do that again or I swear you'll regret it!" Santana stormed back to the living room, not before Kurt yelled at her that she was "getting soft."

Santana continued to mumble in Spanish, what sounded like mostly profanity but Quinn needed her to focus. "Santana!"

That caught the latina's attention. "What up Q?"

"Look I needed to tell you this first. You're my best friend and I think it's better if I tell you and let you explain it to B because I-" She was interrupted by Santana before she could continue.

"What's going on Quinn? You're kinda scaring me." Santana's pixelated face looked worried.

Quinn gripped the edges of her metal chair roughly. "San we're being deployed. We've been here for three months and you know how stir crazy it's making us. We have the skills to save lives-"

"Where?" Santana asked impatiently.

Quinn sighed and look at her best friend. "Iraq."

Quinn saw Santana pinch her nose in an angry manner. It felt like hours of her silence before she huffed, rage in her eyes. "Jesus Quinn what are you thinking? Did you ask them for a different deployment?"

"It doesn't work that way Santana, it's the Army. We were volunteered for it."

Santana laughed humorlessly. "Volunteered or voluntold?"

"S..." Quinn warned.

"What? First you come out of the blue that you've joined the Army, completely ruining our plans for New York that we had talked about all of senior year, and now this? What, did you volunteer specifically?" The latina was pissed off. Her face was impossibly dark.

"It's not like that-" Quinn tried.

"No. You know what just shut up. I'm done. I'm not tellin B, YOU are. Explain it to everyone else." And with that the latina slammed her laptop lid closed.

**TEXAS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

Quinn stared at the picture of Santana and Brittany on the closed Skype call. To say that the conversation didn't go as expected was an understatement. She knew where the dark haired girl was coming from. It seemeed like she was dropping bombshells on top of them everytime they turned their backs. It wasn't fair on her part and she knew she'd have to fix it before she left. From what she was told there would be wifi and communications in Iraq until you got outside of the wire. But chatting with some of the soldiers who had been deployed there before said it was shotty at best and to expect complications in relationships because of it. She knew that with the complications she was having, her relationships might not last.

Quinn pulled up another window and quickly searched for a flight to New York. She had promised her mom she would come home that weekend so they could say their goodbyes but she needed to talk with Santana. Even though Quinn had forgiven her mother for past mistakes she still wasn't as close to her as she was with Santana and Brittany. So she found a flight for Friday night to New York and booked it.

"Looking up porn Fabray?" Daniels slurred at her.

"What the hell?" Quinn jumped up and grabbed her by the arm to balance her. "God," Quinn sniffed, "you reak of alcohol."

Martinez trotted in behind her, pulling the black curtain back that blocked out anything of view from the computer webcam. "It'd be gay porn, Daniels. You forgot to say gay." Martinez stummbled into Quinn making her lose her footing and grip on Daniels. That caused Daniels to slam into the computer and Martinez to fall into Quinn.

"God are you okay?" Quinn helped Daniels to her feet after she pushed Martinez away.

"Yo Fabray! Pushing me away because you only have a shot with Daniels? It's a cruel world after all!" Martinez started laughing which made Daniels laugh and hug Quinn with her whole body.

Quinn laughed and returned the hug before slinging one of Daniels arms around her shoulder. "We need to get you guys back to your rooms."

"My bed is so soft, wanna share?" Daniels asked.

Martinez then slung her arm around Quinn's neck shoulder. "See? I totally knew it!"

Daniels tried and failed horribly, to punch Martinez. "Not in that way you pervert! You have this weird thing with us getting together!"

"I just want my ladies satisfied, then they won't be acting like they have a stick up their ass all the time." Martinez finished as she elbowed Quinn.

The blonde soldier had never been so grateful to have the computer lab so close to their shared home as she was now. She took the steps slowly as the two swayed with each step and her muscles started to protest under the combined weight. She discarded Martinez on the couch who looked like she was about to stand up. "Stay. I'll be back for you." Quinn said sternly before she walked Daniels into her room.

"Here we are." Quinn said softly, while pulling the covers back for her. "Do you need anything before I go?"

Daniels looked at her and smiled. "No I'm good. Thank you Quinn."

Quinn leaned in to hug her. "Any time Sasha." She broke away and turned to shut the light off and close the door.

Quinn walked towards the couch and found that Martinez was missing. "Great." She mumbled angrily. She walked towards the girl's room and found her slumped against the wall with a picture frame in front of her broken, the picture was out and currently in her hands.

Quinn rushed up to her. "What happened?" She said, checking to see if she was cut, when there were no signs she sank down across from the woman.

Martinez had tears streaming down her face and she looked up at Quinn, showing her the picture that was taken of Martinez and her brothers, football in hand and covered in sand.

"That's why I like the beach so much." The hispanic woman softly stated. "You know my brother is in Iraq right now too?"

"I didn't know that Jess." Quinn supplied.

"He's a grunt so of course he's always outside the wire doing god knows what. He said that he almost got shot the other day." Jessica Martinez continued. "Do you think we'll come back Quinn?" She asked with so much worry in her voice that Quinn couldn't find her words right away.

"Come on Jess, it's us." She tried to bring humor in which seemed to ease the girl. "Let's get you up, huh?" Jessica nodded and Quinn hoisted her to her feet and led her to her room.

Once the woman hit her bed she let out a long sigh. "I'm scared Quinn." She rolled over to look at the blonde who was standing in the doorway. "If we don't come back-"

"We will." Quinn interrupted. "I promise."

That seemed to ease Daniels who was now laying on her back and facing the ceiling. "And that's why you're team leader." Quinn nodded even though the other couldn't see and closed the door gently. She heard a soft good night said into the air, and smiled before retiring to her own room.

**NEW YORK````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````**

"Santana?" Brittany called from the couch. They were all sitting around watching old movies together and drinking wine. Rachel was curled up against Kurt on the love seat while they talked about the horrible acting from the leads. "Santana?" Brittany tried again. There was a loud clang followed by cursing in Spanish. "San?" Brittany tried once more.

"WHAT?" The spicy woman yelled from the kitchen, capturing everyone's attention. Santana stormed into the room and was wearing a scowl before she saw the saddest look on Brittany's face. Santana closed her eyes and sighed. "Britt I'm sorry I was just frustrated with the popcorn and then it burned me. I didn't mean to take it out on you."

"It's more than that." Brittany said sadly. "You've been so grumpy." The blonde stood and wrapped her arms around Santana. "Did I do something?" She whispered. The question broke Santana's heart. Brittany was the sweetest person she knew.

"No Britts." Was her short response. She felt bad for how she had left things with Quinn. It had only been a day since then and she was already worried that something horrible would happen to the soldier and she wouldn't be able to tell her she loved her, she was like a sister to her.

"You have been angry for the past couple days Santana." Kurt informed her, Rachel bobbed her head in agreement.

"Well when I want your opinion I'll ask!" She ground out.

Brittany took her hands and smiled softly at her. "Do you want to tell me what's wrong?"

Santana sighed as knocking began on the door. "Look Britt Britt, this is gonna be hard to understand ok?" Brittany's face got serious and she nodded vigorously. "It's about-"

"Quinn!" Rachel screamed from over by the door.

"What the- how did you know Berry?" Santana broke away from Brittany and stalked towards the door. If Rachel had been listening in on her Skype again she was going to lose it, but when she reached the door she saw Quinn and Rachel tangled together. Quinn.

**NEW YORK`````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````**

Rachel was seriously tired of Santana's bad mood. Living with her on a daily basis was challenge enough, but when the spicy woman was in a foul mood it was like WWIII. So when she heard knocking on the door she gracefully removed herself from the loveseat and ambled towards it, thanking whatever miracle had been bestowed to her that she wouldn't have to listen to the long explanation that Santana would undoubtly give. She slid the door open, careful not to open it too far, and felt all of the air be stolen form her lungs. "Quinn!" Rachel threw herself into the blonde, inhaling her scent and grabbing fiercely at her uniform.

Quinn didn't seem to mind and in fact grabbed onto her just as tightly, her hands finding purchase firmly on the shorter girl's lower back. "God, I missed you so much." Quinn exhailed in Rachel's ear. "Three months was too long. I couldn't even tell how long your hair has gotten." Quinn ran her fingers through the singer's hair, enjoying the way the brunette melted into it.

"I would say the same about you but your hair is always in that sock bun." She retorted, bringing her hands up to cup the soldier's face. "You're definitely tanner, something I couldn't tell. Although I suppose that's only natural, given that you're always out in the field tugging things around. Have you been wearing the sunscreen that I sent you?" Rachel asked which caused the girl to laugh and knock her hands away before wrapping her up in another hug.

"It's 'lugging' things around, and yes I have. But did you really have to send me that strong of sunscreen? I'm not an albino. And Martinez made fun of me for days!" Quinn drew back to stare at the girl in question, who had now placed her hands on her hips clearly about to enter full on diva mode. Glancing behind the girl she noticed Brittany and Santana, Kurt was smirking knowingly. Santana still looked pissed off and only shook her head and scowled, dropping back towards the kitchen. Brittany was bouncing with excitement, but she wasn't going to interupt their conversation, not since Santana had explained that Quinn was in love with the singer. Brittany turned to point out how cute they were but noticed Santana was no longer next to her, so she departed towards the kitchen in search of the girl. Quinn frowned inwardly, it was going to be a little more difficult than she thought because behind all of those snarky remarks and angry mannerisims there was a kind girl who had feelings, and Quinn knew that she had hurt the latina's feelings.

"You've always been on the lighter side Quinn, and while I wouldn't go as far as to say that you're albino, you are unnaturally white." The statement caused Quinn to snap out of her thoughts and return her gaze to Rachel, sporting an infamous Fabray eyebrow quirk. "Not that you aren't incredibly beautiful!" Rachel tried to save, "Just that the sunscreen I bought is correct for your skin tone and it will help to prevent skin cancer and early aging. Quinn you're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen."

Before Rachel could go on Quinn smiled and reached for Rachel's hand, entwining their fingers. "I know, I just like messing with you." Rachel slapped Quinn away. "What? You're very cute when you get all flustered." Rachel blushed in reply. "Look, I have to go chat with B and Santana really quick but when I'm done you can show me the new bed you bought, alright?" Quinn smiled softly and Kurt cleared his throat.

"Please tell me that isn't some lesbian ufamisim for sex."

Quinn headed towards the kitchen throwing back, "It's good to see you too, Kurt." And disappearing.

**NEW YORK~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

"Santana," Quinn walked in to find Santana and Brittany whispering to one antother. Upon hearing her name she snapped her head up.

"No. You're not going to skirt your way around this. Explain it to her now, not right before you leave. You can't keep coming here and springing things on people and then just leave, I end up having to deal with all of the aftermath!" Santana yelled, both blondes knew that it was her defense mechanisim.

Quinn raised her hands in surrender. "Okay. Okay, you're right. Britt can I talk to you? Alone?" Quinn looked to Santana who stood by with her arms crossed. "What you don't trust me?" Santana didn't budge. Sighing Quinn walked up to Brittany who immediately crushed her with a hug. Quinn squeaked out from the force but relaxed into it.

"I didn't know you were coming! You're back really soon though right? Because San keeps a callandar of when you're going to be home and it wasn't for another few months." Brittany released the other blonde and turned to the latina. "Why are you still so mad? Quinn is here!" The tall dancer turned back to Quinn. "She didn't know you were coming, right?"

Quinn shook her head. "No B, but I do know why she's mad." Brittany perked up at this. "It's because of me."

But before Quinn could finish Brittany was asking away. "Why is she mad at you? You guys have been fighting? When? Why?"

"Britt-" Quinn interjected, "it happened yesterday. I gave her some news that was hard to digest."

Brittany's face contorted in confusion. "But we have the news here...why would you eat the news San?"

Quinn sighed in mild annoyance. She loved Brittany with all of her heart, Quinn led her towards the bar stools that sat with the counter. "Do you remember when all of that bad stuff was happening way across the world?" Quinn asked delicately.

Brittany nodded. "A bunch of people were dying and it was always on the news. It made me sad."

Quinn rested her hand on Brittany's. "Well there are still people over there, and it's not safe for them and we have to keep sending more people there. Everyone has a different job to do and some of the jobs are to make it safe so that everyone else can do their jobs. Does that make sense?" Quinn looked to Brittany and the dancer nodded slowly, recognition and fear laced in her deep blue eyes. "Well there's a group of people who need me to go there to help make it safe for them, so that they can do their job and come back without getting hurt."

Brittany seemed lost in thought for a few seconds but when her sad eyes met Quinn's, both Santana and the soldier knew that she understood. "You're going to Iraq?"

One heatbeat-

Two heartbeats-

"Yes." Fell from her soft lips.

A gasp and choked sob filled the kitchen and all three heads swiveled to see Rachel standing in the doorway.

Quinn stood halfway off of the stool and halfway on, not knowing if she could support her own weight. Her mouth opened and closed trying to find words, any words. But she was too late, Rachel covered her mouth tears pouring down her face, and dashed off to her room. The apartment was quiet for a few moments before Brittany nudged her, sadness lingering in her eyes but she knew that Rachel needed Quinn more at that moment.

**NEW YORK~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

"Rachel please." Quinn knocked on the door pleadingly. "Please open the door." She pressed her forehead against it, unknowing that the brunette was doing the same on the other side. "I have to talk to you-to-to explain-"

The door flew open sending Quinn stumbling a couple of steps forward, Rachel not backing down and right in her face. "Explain what? That you just showed up and expected that to make it all better? That the resaon Santana has been in such a shitty mood" Quinn flinched, Rachel only cursed when she was uncontrollably angry. "is because she knew all along? That the whole time we were on the phone last night you knew that you were going to be leaving for-for IRAQ - and you still didn't tell me? But Brittany and Santana are the first to know? Am I really that unimportant to you that you can't even tell me second?" Rachel's anger was dissapating and had transformed into sadness. She backed up until her knees hit the bed, resting her head in her hands while she sat forward.

Quinn knealt down in front of her and tried, but failed, to pry the girl's hands away from her face. "It's true," She began, "I did tell Santana first but only because she needed to know. I had already told my mom-" Rachel cried harder, clearly she wasn't even the third to know, "it was only a matter of time before she told Mama Lopez and I didn't want Santana to hear it from her."

"But it's okay if I overhear it?" Rachel asked into her hands.

Quinn let her head slump forward before gathering a breath. "I was going to tell you right after I told Brittany, but Santana was pouting and Brittany followed her. I swear they're like geese." The crying quieted and Quinn's lips twitched into a small smile. "You know, because they mate for life? No? Not funny? How abooooout..." She paused and could feel Rachel listening carefully, "THIS?" She launched herself forward taking Rachel with her, and began to tickle her. Rachel removed her hands covering her face and tried to catch Quinn's.

"STOP!" Rachel squeaked but laughed which Quinn knew was a sign that it was okay.

"Hmmm...nope I don't think so." Quinn had captured Rachel's hands in turn, and pinned them over her head. "What's the magic word?" Quinn asked slowly. Rachel bit her lip in contemplation and notcied Quinn's eyes tracking the movement. She looked down and saw that the blonde was straddling her and leaning forward, their bodies meeting seamlessly in all the right places. When she looked back up her chocolate eyes met with hazel. Darkened hazel. Not missing a beat, she leaned up as far as she could with her hands pinned, the blonde leaning down to meet her halfway, and when their lips couldn't get any closer a soft buzzing noise popped the bubble they had created. Quinn seemed to be the first to react, shaking her head and looking between them with a soft cough. "Right, sorry." She rolled off of the brunette who was still too stunned to move, but on the third vibrate she sat up and ran a hand through her hair.

"It's yours." Quinn was on the other side of the room grabbing her phone off of the dresser.

Rachel squinted at her. "We need to talk about this, Quinn." She reached for the offered phone as the blonde was approaching.

"It's Brody." She said, the distaste evident in her voice. "I'll give you some privacy." And she watched the blonde stalk through the door, not bothering to gently close it.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Wow! Thank you to everyone who has favorited/followed/reviewed this story! Totally made my day! I'm honestly not sure how often my chapters will come out because my class is picking up immensely. What was originally going to be a 15 week semester is now a 12 week semester and since it's summer semester the pacing of the class is much faster. But I'm learning soooo much, and I'm beyond pumped to do my ambulance and ER clinicals! Anyways! Enjoy lovelies! **

The slamming door is what caught Brittany's attention. Not the first one, Santana had stormed out after Quinn had chased Rachel and the dancer really hated that noise. The second one made her flinch and Quinn appeared, walking towards Brittany's shared room with Santana. "Hey Q." Brittany said weakly, noticing how the blonde straightened a little and looked in shock.

"Whoah Britt you scared me." Quinn observed the room, "Where's Santana?" She inquired, taking a seat next to Brittany on the lumpy couch. "This thing is kinda banged up since the last time I was here."

Quinn smiled but that only confused Brittany more. How did Quinn know what she and Santana had been doing on it? But she wouldn't voice that question yet. "She's in our room, she's mad that you left with Rachel." Brittany frowned more and grabbed Quinn's hand, noting the forced smile. "Why are you both fighting?"

"She doesn't understand that it's my job, B! I have to go, I don't get a say anymore." Quinn defended.

Brittany mulled this over carefully. "But did you think that maybe San has been through a lot too? Think about it, Q." Brittany leaned them both back, resting her head on Quinn's shoulder. "Sure all three of us had plans but Santana was really excited about New York. She cried so hard that night that I thought she would die from water loss. She might put up this front but she worries about you all the time. When you called us during sexy times?" Quinn stiffened next to her, "She actually stopped and didn't huff and yell in Sparticush."

"Spanish." Quinn corrected.

"Yeah, and I thought maybe I wasn't doing a good job but then I saw her face when the Skype thing came up and she looked calm. Do you get it, Q?"

Quinn grinned with tears pooling behind her eyes. Not trusting her words, she merely squeezed Brittany's hand, both girl's sighing in content. And even though Santana was pissed off she let a small smile show up before she crept back towards her room.

`````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````

Rachel sat on her bed and continued denying Brody's calls. Apparently he didn't know how to receive a message, or he was just extremely pushy. Either way he was her last concern. Her mind kept screaming at her to run after Quinn and do something-anything, but the moment had continued to dwindle down until it became non existent. What she did know was that Quinn was going to kiss her. And if her phone wouldn't have rang then they might've done more than just kiss. Her heart had never beat so quickly in all of her life. Her entire body felt like it was on fire but everywhere Quinn's body met hers felt like it was impossibly hotter. She had never wanted someone so much, but now she just wanted to curl up and be left alone. Low and behold that can't even be answered because there was a consistent knocking on her door.

Sighing she pushed her self from her bed, dragging her feet the entire way, and cracked the door open. The door didn't stay that way because a certain latina pushed it in and closed it tightly before puttering her finger to Rachel's lips.

"B and Q fell asleep on the couch and I snuck in here. I wanna know what happened with you and Tubbers." Santana spat out in a whisper, Rachel caught the nickname. Santana must still be pretty angry.

Rachel swatted the girl's hand away and backed up. "Nothing-"

Santana clamped her entire hand around Rachel's mouth this time. "What the fuck did you not understand about what I said. They're sleeping. Now shut the fuck up and tell me what happened."

The raven haired girl didn't remover her hand so Rachel forcefully pried away the hand in question. "First of all your statement of advising me to 'shut up but tell you' said in much more acceptable terms, contradicts itself. I can't shut up and talk. Secondly, nothing happened."

"Bullshit. I heard the door slam genius, how do you think I found them sleeping on the couch? Why is she pissed at you now?" Santana was as one might say 'all up in her grill' by now and Rachel wasn't enjoying the death glare she was receiving.

"We were talking." Lie. "Then Brody called me." Santana stepped away, throwing her hands in the air and looking like she wanted to scream. Or punch her. Hopefully the first, although neither would make her content.

"Listen here Munchin, since neither of you can get your shit together Auntie San has to do the babysitting and get it for ya. Stop being an idiot and look at her! She is all about you, and I know you're all about her, you told me! So what in the hell is keeping you two apart?!" Santana was on the verge of yelling now, her whispers were coming out like acid.

"Santana it's more complicated than you think." Rachel sat back on her bed.

"Good. I know complicated, are you forgetting who you're talking to? Your lies are getting old and irritating. Spill it Berry." Santana had her cheerleader stance on.

Rachel sighed and met her eyes. "I don't want to kill her."

The latina was physically taken back by that, stepping backwards a few steps. "What do you mean?" She asked in a shaky voice.

"It doesn't matter." Rachel finished by shaking her head.

"Hey." Santana walked over and sat next to her, gathering a deep breath before releasing it slowly. "I care about you Rachel. As shitty as that is, because I used to hate you and ignoring your bullshit is much easier, I do worry or whatever." Santana tried to deflect. "What makes you think anything you do will get her killed?" The latina prodded.

"Santana-"

"No. We're going to talk about this. B said that I need to start talking about all this pussy crap or else I'll die. Well she's worried I'll explode because she said bottles can only be so full and if I keep bottling things up-"

"What if I fight with her and the next day she's dead? No memory no matter how strong it is can replace that last thing said. So we can't fight like normal people? She does reckless things Santana, joining the Army without telling any of us? Getting deployed so soon into her career? She's being reckless and recklessness catches up with you, don't tell me that it doesn't." Rachel stared at the latina waiting for her response, but what came wasn't what she expected. Santana threw herself into Rachel's arms and began to bawl her eyes out. Rachel responded quickly by holding the girl close.

"I don't know what to do. I feel like I've already lost her. When we talk I can see it, like she's somewhere else thinking about something else. If that's not shitty enough what if she dies?!" The raven haired girl said in between sniffles.

After what felt like hours, Santana pulled away and wiped at her eyes. "She's the closest thing that I have to a sister. I'm so so mad at her for all of this, but I'm so so happy to see her." Santana sniffled once again but started laughing uncontrollably. Rachel only looked on, worried that the girl had snapped after all. "Oh come on Berry don't look at me like that." Santana waived a hand at her dismissively. "It's just funny that after everything, I'm crying on your shoulder. You know?"

And while that observation was odd Rachel began to think about Quinn. After all this time they are still skating around their feelings. But no. Rachel Barbra Berry does not back down once she has her mind set. A smile overtook her features then. "Santana I may need to ask for a favor." That caught the girl's attention.

Squinting her eyes she looked at Rachel in a questioning manner. "What do you have in mind, Berry."

```````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````

Brody walked into his hotel room casually. He had just finished with his last client and could head to Rachel's place, he thought it was odd that she wasn't answering him right away so he had to go check on her. His movements stopped when he saw a light on and a shadow being cast against the wall. Looking up he was met with fierce dark eyes. Santana. "What the hell are you doing here?" He screeched at her. He knew she was a little intense from what Rachel had said and his own experiences, but this? This was borderline harassment.

"Listen here Sausage cooker."

"Wha-"

"It's because you cooked naked. Look I'm only gonna ask you once, stay away from Rachel. I mean it, no calls, no stalking, nothin like that. Got it?" Santana was finished with her speech, now to get home and get her cuddle on.

When she reached the door though, "No. You don't tell me who I can talk to. Or who I can or can't do." He smirked a little at his own word choice.

Santana turned around and threw back lazily. "One more chance Brody."

"Or what?" He asked defiantly.

Santana smiled a little too chillingly at him, before opening the door and disappearing. Now he just needed to find his jacket...

His hotel door slammed open and a guy that looked pretty big, maybe a little soft around the edges, stalked in. "What the fuck are you doing? This is my room dude!" He rushed out, but two big, strong hands found his shoulders and slammed him into a wall. Brody searched his face in panic, memorizing every detail when it hit him, he knew this face.

"Leave Rachel the hell alone!" Finn shouted at him.

He felt threatened and struggled against the strong grip until breaking free and tackling him onto the bed. Finn turned out to be the stronger one and pushed Brody off of him before running at him and crashing him into another wall. Pulling Brody from the wall, he threw him into a table nearby, it breaking and splintering under his body weight.

Brody groaned from his spot on the floor, looking up as Finn crouched down next to his body. "Stay away from Rachel, if she wants to be with Quinn you better respect it." He ground out each word, his jaw clenched firmly. Brody's only response came in a nod, and he heard 'Yeah, it's all good.' and the door slamming.

``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````

"Problem solved." Santana said as she stepped into Rachel's room, noting that two blonde's were missing from the couch. "Where'd they go?" Santana pointed her head in the direction of the living room.

Rachel looked at her from her seat at her 'study chair'. "Brittany said she was going to show Quinn the park at night." Rachel replied solemnly.

"God Berry, you're so depressing." Santana jumped onto Rachel's bed. "Oh fuck this is comfy."

"Santana."

"Whatever. Look, your problem with Brody is alllllll taken care of." Santana put her hands behind her bed and closed her eyes. She needed a new bed soon.

Rachel turned around in her seat so quick it could've given her whip lash. "What did you do?" She accused.

Poking an eye open Santana sighed and sat up. "Jesus! You said that I needed to make sure he left you alone. It's taken care of, that's all you need to know."

"Santana...did you kill him?" Rachel asked it in such a serious way that Santana scoffed at her. Twice.

"Really Berry? As if I would waste my perfectly fine ass body in prison. No thanks. He's alright, I mean I think, Finn didn't really say..." Santana looked in deep thought but that isn't what caught the brunette's attention.

"Finn?"

"Oh yeah, well you know that he's visiting Kurt this week so I called him. Don't worry he's not gonna head over here and bother you, it's still too awkward for him."

"I know that! But why Finn? Anyone would've been a better choice."

"As much as I hate to agree with you, that's true. But I have limited options and since me and Q are fighting no way I'm askin her. Plus it would defeat the purpose. 'Stay away from my future wife!'" Santana imitated Quinn in a horrid fashion. "Can you imagine that?" She laughed loudly. "That would just be embarrassing." Santana huffed and went back to laying down, closing her eyes.

But the thing is, Rachel could imagine that, and she smiled to herself. Oh yes, she had a plan.

```````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````

Quinn was walking with her arm laced through Brittany's, strolling through this beautiful park. "I really didn't think that anywhere in New York could be this beautiful."

"Just look in the mirror when you visit Quinnie." Brittany said with a smirk.

"Ha Ha, I think you've been spending too much time with Santana." Quinn looked out over the water, they were currently stopping at a bridge.

"Well it's kind of hard not to when you live together." Brittany took in the water but was fascinated by the look on Quinn's face. "You never told me why you left Rachel's room so angry.

Quinn cut her vision to Brittany before looking back out at the lake. "It's complicated."

"Well I know how to do complicated." Brittany smiled generously at her before Quinn broke out in a gentle laugh.

"Yeah, I guess you do." She laughed while shaking her head. "Brody called."

"And?" Brittany asked patiently.

"Rachel and I were...talking." Quinn finished lamely.

"Were you guys having sexy times?" Brittany looked like a little kid being told a story for the first time.

Quinn cleared her throat. "Uhh no, we were about to? Well at least kiss."

"What's wrong with Brody calling then?" Brittany was confused again, why was Quinn so confusing all the time?

Sighing, Quinn turned to fully face the dancer. "We had this moment and then the phone rang and I panicked. I didn't want to force her into anything. And then Brody was calling which just ruined it."

"So you got mad at her because her phone rang?" Brittany commented.

"No. Because Brody was calling her!" Quinn basically yelled.

Brittany turned her head to the side, noting the jealously in Quinn's voice. "Quinn she can't control who calls her. You know that she hasn't been talking to Brody for a few weeks?"

Quinn shook her head, "We don't ever talk about our 'love lives'."

"That doesn't seem weird to you? You're best friends who talk all of the time but not about something so important. Quinn I know how she feels about you but I had to promise not to tell."

Quinn took both of Brittany's hands in hers, clasping them in front of her. "Brittany she's had feelings for me?" Her response was a nod. "For how long."

"San said since you left." Brittany was then engulfed in a huge hug. "Why are you crying?" Brittany tried to pull back but was squeezed harder, which she returned with just as much force.

"Because I'm just so damn happy Britt."

````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````

"Too much?" Rachel asked as she finished lighting the last candle on the table.

Santana didn't even bother to look at the decorations that she had looked over at least a million times already. "It's fine Berry. I'm going to get Britts now so get your shitty meal out of the oven fast."

Before Rachel could answer her the door was closed. More like slammed but she didn't care about that at the moment. She took a moment to collect herself. She could this, she's Rachel Berry for goodness sake! The kitchen had a bar stool on each side of the counter with two candles in the middle, the one on Rachel's side had a little less wax, having been lit first. There were basic plates set out and wine glasses that had an expensive wine sitting in the fridge. She didn't want to ask how Santana had acquired it so soon, she knew better by now. The lights were dimmer in the kitchen and everything was spotless. She had also set up her record player near one of the cupboards and had a gentle rythm playing in the background. Everything was perfect, a timer went off then, well almost perfect.

Rachel rushed towards the oven and scrambled to open it. Smoke came out and she quickly adorned oven mitts, wafting the smoke out of her face. "Great." She stated flatly, reaching in to retrieve her vegan lasagna and realizing Santana had set the oven temperature wrong. "Damn it Santana!" She dropped it onto the top of the stove and quickly shut it off. Leaning back against the closed oven she ran her oven mitted hands across her face, trying to think of an alternative plan. Her phone rang from in the living room so she briskly walked to it. "Santana! You put the oven on for 475? Are you insane?"

"Relax Berry, you never specified that crap so I guessed."

Rachel broke in, "Well your guess was wrong."

"And that's why they call it a 'guess'. Just order some pizza from Lorenzo's, alright? Tell them Lopez wants some, he'll get it to you quick."

The brunette chose not to question how Santana managed to have so many contacts in this city already, and instead asked another, "Why are you calling anyways?"

Santana grunted on the other line. "Oh I can't just check in on my best friend in the whole world?" She aid sarcastically. Rachel thought she could hear Brittany telling her to be nice in the background, "I'm with Brittany, Quinn is on her way back. I'll order it now and tell them it's an emergency."

"Do you want my card number?" Rachel asked as she reached for her wallet on the coffee table.

"Consider it part of your favor, Berry. You'll just owe me one." And she heard a click.

Rachel gulped, not liking that she owed Santana 'one' but she raced towards the door and awaited Quinn's arrival.

```````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````

Seeing Santana walking towards them had frightened Quinn immensely. She was worried that something may have happened to Rachel. When the latina arrived she scowled at Quinn and whispered something in Brittany's ear which had the dancer's face splitting into a huge smile. Brittany had instructed her to go home, that she and Santana wouldn't be back until late and that Kurt had been in a hotel with Finn for the past week anyways. Quinn smiled to Brittany and Santana, the latina's scowl looked strained, and turned on her feet to head back to her friends apartment. She figured that they must have a big surprise date planned, but the closer she got to their apartment the more she thought about it. If that were the case then Brittany would've squealed and asked a million different questions. Unless her friends really were changing and she wasn't around as much to see it. But she knew either way, they were keeping something from her.

She climbed the stairs and was about to open the door but thought better of it. What if Rachel wanted to be alone? She should knock first, after all it wasn't her apartment. She brought her fist up just as the door slid open.

"Quinn!" Rachel gasped a little, her eyes growing wide. "I thought that was you, it still took me by surprise apparently." They stood staring at each other, each a little embarrassed. "Come in!" Rachel stepped aside and gestured wildly with her arms.

Quinn looked down, expecting to find her bags but there was nothing. "Uh..?" She was looking down, but Rachel clearly understood what she was meaning.

"Oh! Your luggage! I moved it into my room so that it would be safe and no one would trip on it." Rachel looked on for Quinn to say something but the blonde was only standing there awkwardly. "Right, well before we continue I'd like to give you a chance to freshen up." Rachel clapped her hands together with a nervous smile.

"Continue what exactly?" Quinn was concerned with what smelled like smoke that perhaps Rachel was confused from lack of oxygen. As if to answer her question there was a knock on the door and Rachel straightened.

"If you'll excuse me, please freshen up if you'd like, you look lovely either way and meet me in the kitchen."

Quinn took that as her que to leave, and went to Rachel's room where her bags awaited her. She slipped out of her uniform and into a loose dark blue V-Neck T-shirt and a pair of skinny jeans. Staring at herself in the mirror she smiled, she looked good and she knew her hair would have to come out of the sock bun. She reluctantly got her hair free and it was wavy in her reflection, hanging just above her shoulders, apparently New York liked it that way. She stepped away and took a moment for herself, sitting on the bed again and noting just how soft this bed was. Quinn began to think about what Rachel had said, that they'd 'continue' afterwards. What did that mean? Were they going to continue arguing? Or what they were doing on this very bed she was sitting on- Quinn jumped up and opened the bedroom door, making a straight shot towards the kitchen. She wanted to know what Rachel had in store for them and she realized she should probably apologize to the singer for her behavior earlier. She stopped in the doorway and looked around, noting how dimly lit the kitchen was and the soft, calming music. There looked to be some burnt concoction on the stove and she giggled at the sight of it. She caught movement by the counter and was met with chocolate eyes observing her. Quinn hadn't bothered to take in the sight of Rachel earlier, too worried that the singer may still be angry with her, but she regretted that now. Rachel was dressed in a short black skirt and a creamy white sleeveless top that hugged her curves so wonderfully. Catching the blondes roaming eyes Rachel cleared her throat. "I should go change." Rachel walked towards Quinn and almost passed her when long slender fingers wrapped around her wrist.

"Rachel you look beautiful." Quinn cringed at her own words, not giving the short woman the right amount of justice.

Rachel smiled at her bashfully, and took Quinn's other hand. "I think you may be talking about yourself Ms. Fabray." Rachel answered smoothly.

Quinn pretended to give herself a once over and smirked. "Oh me? Yeah I know I look great."

Rachel swatted at her playfully. "Has anyone ever told you just how modest you are?"

Quinn looked off to the side and tried to feign deep in thought. "Well...once someone told me I was the prettiest girl they knew." Rachel locked her eyes on Quinn's. "But I was also a lot more than that. But I've always wondered if she knew just how beautiful she is." Quinn moved her hands to cup Rachel's cheeks while the singers arms hung loosely now. "How much she means to me." Quinn whispered.

"I want to kiss you right now." Rachel said lowly.

Quinn smiled and leaned in. "Then what's stopping you?"

And Quinn felt the girl pull back, opening her eyes she saw Rachel's sincere smile, "Dinner." She gestured to the counter.

"Dinner...?" Quinn asked but looked at counter. There she could see two plates that had vegan friendly (she assumed) pizza on them. Two candles burning in front of each plate, she noticed one was lower than the other. On the other counter, beneath the cupboards, sat the diva's record player. "You did all of this?" Quinn followed the singer as she led them to their seats. Quinn went to sit down at the second plate.

"Ah ah ah!" Rachel laughed slightly, shooing her towards the other side. "This is my plate."

"But this is the same pizza on each one? Are you going to poison me?" Quinn asked in a half joke.

Rachel scoffed. "Really Quinn, I would never do that!" And then corrected, "Even if I was going to, it would be much more tactful."

"Oh yes, you're one for the dramatics. My mistake Madame." Quinn received a napkin flying into her face for that. Quinn handed it back to Rachel before she continued. "So why that plate then?"

"After dinner, Quinn." Rachel gestured to their food and when Quinn refused to eat Rachel sighed. "Fine." Rachel reached over and grabbed Quinn's slice and took a bite. "Happy?"

"Well what if you predicted that I would do that?" Quinn played.

"Ugh you're such a child Fabray." Rachel took a bite of her own then. "Better?"

Quinn sported a smug look and bobbed her head up and down. "Much." And she reached for a sip of her wine after taking a few bites but stopped to eye it carefully.

"I swear to God, if I have to try that too-" Quinn cut her off by downing the whole glass and releasing a contented sigh.

"I just love seeing you flustered. You're adorable."

"And you're irritating." Rachel supplied, but smiled at Quinn, sweetly.

Their meal went by in a comfortable silence, the background noise filling it with a romantic touch. Once they both had had their second glass of wine Rachel folded her napkin and placed it delicately on the table. She stood in front of Quinn and offered her hand. "If I may?"

Quinn bit her lip slightly at this and smiled, taking the offered hand and being helped to her feet. They began to sway back and forth, Rachel taking the lead and Quinn with her hands wrapped around Rachel's neck. "So do you always like taking the lead or are you trying to make me swoon?"

Looking up into Hazel eyes Rachel laughed a little. "Well if I succeed in making you swoon then I have accomplished more than I had planned. But what I wish for is to... court you?" Rachel finished.

Quinn looked surprised, were her prayers finally coming true? Was Rachel honestly asking to date her? To be her girlfriend? Rachel took it as a sign to pull her closer so they were now fused together, swaying only slightly to the soft record. "You questioned why I wanted to sit at that seat." Rachel stated. "The candles do have a significance, although I'm not sure if you noticed it."

"One is shorter than the other." Quinn held back her joke and could feel Rachel as she giggled against her chest. God if she could just stay wrapped up in this woman's arms forever.

"They represent us." Now Quinn was wishing she would have told her joke which caused them both to laugh. "And no Quinn, not for our height differences. One is slightly shorter than the other, the wax having burned down more. It's a symbol, my feelings for you began so quickly that it lit something within me. I haven't been able to stop it from spreading and it's just a matter of time before it engulfs me." Rachel was whispering now, their swaying had stopped and they were just holding each other tight. "That fire from me was lit by you. Which is why you're the shorter candle. I won't stop caring for you even if your fire has burnt out."

"Which is why yours is the taller one." Quinn finished.

Rachel pulled back to gaze at her, Rachel was cupping her cheeks this time. "I really want to kiss you." Rachel whispered against Quinn's lips, the soft breath making Quinn gasp.

"Then what's stopping you?" Quinn asked.

"Be my girlfriend." Rachel said it with an intensity that made Quinn shiver, her heart rate picking up and a low heat below making her eyes heavy.

"Was that a question?" The blonde needed to hear it again, just to be sure.

"Will you, Quinn Fabray, be my girlfrie-" Rachel was cut off by the softest lips she had ever felt. Rachel dove her hands into Quinn's wavy hair and gripped the back of her head, bring her impossibly closer. Rachel gently bit down on Quinn's lip, earning her a grunt and hands tightening around her waist.

"God yes, I'll be yours." Quinn dove back into kissing the short brunette, feeling Rachel break her hands away and scrape them against her back. Quinn shuddered and backed Rachel up until they connected with the counter near the sink, the record player next to them was louder here. Rachel attempted to wrap a leg around Quinn's waist which caused the soldier to run her hands down the diva's ass, gripping firmly.

"Fuck." Rachel ground out, attaching her lips to Quinn's neck. This spurred the blonde on, she drug her hands down the backs of Rachel's hips and picked her up, setting her on the counter. Rachel squeezed her legs tightly around Quinn's waist, who was standing in between her legs, and as Quinn then attached her lips onto Rachel's neck, the singer snuck her hands down to Quinn's shirt. "Off." And Quinn stepped back, reaching for the hem, and pulled it off. Rachel licked her lips and curled her finger to signal the blonde to return. Quinn swayed her hips back towards Rachel and stopped, whispering against her lips, "You first." And guided Rachel's hands with hers down to the singer's shirt, helping her out of it.

With both of their tops stripped off they hungrily attached their lips back together, both moaning at the sound of their bare skin meeting for the first time. Rachel was working her hands behind Quinn's back, loving the noises it invoked within the blonde, when they both heard the sound of the door sliding open.

"They're home!" Quinn squeaked. "How long have we been kissing?" Quinn ducked down to the ground retrieving both of their shirts, handing Rachel's hers. Rachel watched on in amusement as Quinn tried frantically to get it on over her head. Her hair was out of control and Santana and Brittany both strolled in as Quinn tried to tame it.

"Damn Berry, you work fast!" Santana yelled, laughing at Quinn's distraught state, not even bothering to look away.

"You're both so hot! I didn't know your body looked that sexy Rachel!" Brittany smiled and clapped her hand together, bouncing up and down.

Quinn turned to glance at Rachel, doing a double take when she noticed Rachel was still only clad in her bra. Quinn raced over to block their view from her girlfriend. That's right her girlfriend. "Stopping ogling my girlfriend Santana!" Quinn defended.

"Me?" Santana bantered back, having forgotten being mad at Quinn for a moment. "Britt's is looking too!"

Quinn narrowed her eyes."Brittany is innocent." Quinn smiled to Brittany and she beamed back.

"Whatever losers, take it to a room." Santana fired back, making herself comfortable on a bar stool, Brittany hopping onto her lap.

Quinn looked at them and knew that the pair wasn't going to at least give them the decency to get in the room before they decided to eat the pizza, and so she held out her hand to Rachel who took it gladly. "Thank you girlfriend." Rachel enunciated.

"My pleasure." Quinn trailed her fingers up and down Rachel's arm.

"God! GET. . I'd like to be able to stomach this crap." Santana gestured to the pizza.

"They're cute." Brittany chimed in.

Rachel giggled while the loving pair bickered about it and pulled Quinn with her, towards her room. The door slammed shut and Brittany couldn't help but think how happy that particularly door slam made her.

Once the pair were inside of the room they stared deeply at one another.

"Hi." Rachel said, smiling and biting her lip.

Quinn reached up and ran her thumb across the diva's lower lip. "Hi." She mimed.

Rachel smiled and kissed her thumb. Quinn grabbed her hand yawning. "Sleepy?" Quinn nodded and Rachel drug them towards her bed. She pushed Quinn down onto it, and when she reached for the singer, the girl pulled back smiling. Digging through her drawer she found some shorts and shirts. "Change, then we'll cuddle." Quinn pouted and Rachel grabbed and extra pillow out, chucking it at her girlfriend's head.

Standing up, she walked to the brunette and kissed her softly. Once, twice, three times, then Quinn felt her back hit the door. Rachel kissed her fiercely and then backed away. "Cuddles." She seemed to be reminding herself more than Quinn.

"Is it okay if we take it slow?" Quinn asked delicately. She was met with darkened chocolate eyes and a firm and steady nod. "I know earlier-"

Rachel kissed her softly, interrupting her. "Hey, we have all of the time in the world." Both of them knew that wasn't the case. Once the weekend was over Quinn would go back to Texas before she deployed and Rachel would continue with NYADA. Things would be hard but if they both worked at it, it wouldn't be impossible. "Go change before I undress you here." Rachel broke the thick silence.

"Yes ma'am." Quinn mock saluted.

Quinn slipped out of the door and went towards the bathroom, making sure to be quiet since the only thing she could hear was the soft music emitting from the record player. Once changed and fully groomed for sleep she made her way towards the record player but stopped at what she found. Brittany and Santana were dancing together, smiles on both of their faces while they rested their foreheads together. The soldier smiled, feeling her heart blossom at the scene in front of her, and crept back to Rachel's room, the candles dancing away until dawn. And even when the last flame burnt away, love was still there.


	5. Chapter 5

**It's been a while. Enjoy.**

``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````

"Easy Fabray. God I'd like to keep my body parts all attached." Martinez shrieked in her ear.

Quinn sighed and clenched her jaw angrily. She loved her team but it was hot and she was tired. They'd been in Iraq for three months and this job never seemed to give her a break. "Will you shut up Martinez? It takes time." She tried to dislodge the top of the homemade bomb once more but still wasn't able to get it off.

Martinez sighed and sloppily fell to the ground next to Quinn, which caused Quinn to practically growl at her. "What do you think you're doing?" The blonde leader carefully sat the IED down. She stood and got safe footing before gripping Martinez by her collar.

"Hey! Calm down!" Martinez was literally ripped from the ground and towards a safer side of Quinn. "What the hell Quinn?" Martinez was now irritated but Quinn had to get it across to her that that move was an illogical one.

"Did I tell you that there were no wires there?" Martinez opens her mouth but Quinn is quick to raise her hand in silence. "You don't get sloppy, and you never sit down next to me when I'm doing that. That gun you have," Quinn gestures to the AR-15 hanging from a three-point sling across the woman's strong shoulder. "it's not a toy. You're supposed to be at your point watching, just like Daniels and if you can't do your job I'll find someone else who can."

"What the- what's crawled up your ass?" Martinez was baffled, Quinn normally wasn't like this. "Are you serious right now? You're getting bitchy with me over a bad dream you had?" Martinez questioned the soldier that now had her back to her, she could tell the blonde was doing that irritating nose-bridge-pinchy-thing. "Look, that dream happened a week ago and nothing has happened. This place is like a dead zone." Martinez laughed at her wording, it was morbid but she needed jokes before she died from her boredom.

Quinn sighed and turned back to face her,"Go Martinez."

Laughing, Martinez shook her head, "Come on we'll work on it together and then-"

Quinn clenched her jaws and took an aggressive stance. "NOW! That's an order soldier!"

Visibly shaken Martinez stared at Quinn, and after a few moments shook her head and angrily stormed off towards her post. Sighing to herself, Quinn went back to the IED, careful not to step anywhere that had not previously stepped on. She hated having to raise her voice and command her friends around but it was her job. If they all wanted to go back home in one piece then they had to do their jobs. She began to pry on the top of the IED, careful not to break any wiring that may lay underneath, when she heard gunshots. This wasn't rare and she knew that it was probably the special forces unit that they were currently attached to. Quinn had been tasked with clearing the IED out of the road so that they could continue to the target that the men were after. She had been sure to take the advice of her old CO and not ask any questions. But she hated being in the dark about things and she sure as hell hated being in the middle of a road working on a bomb that could go off in her arms at any point. And with that thought a gleam caught her sight.

She spoke aloud, knowing that her mic that worked off of vibrations from her throat would pick it up. "Daniels, Martinez, I got something." She couldn't help but whisper. She was currently staring at a man who was holding a cell phone on a roof just across the street.

"Copy Fabray, where?" Daniels reported across the line.

"Across the street. A man in his forties, he's holding a cell phone." Quinn could feel her nerves on edge and her heart hammered loudly, she briefly wondered if they could hear it in their mics.

"Shit." Is all quick could pick up before she heard panting that was coming from both Daniels and Martinez, clearly running.

"One of you have to stay, watch the roads, I can finish this." Quinn reasoned.

"Like hell!" Martinez panted harshly.

Quinn took a steadying breath and watched the man. She felt as if he was peering into her soul, judging everything she had ever done. "Daniels, you need to approach the building with your body against it. Martinez you have to go around, if you come towards me and he sees you he'll blow it."

"Fuck." She heard sliding and knew that Martinez had to turn around and bust ass back towards Daniels.

"Daniels, listen to me." Quinn began softly. "I don't know if he actually has access to the bomb but if he does you know what you'll have to do." She paused. "Daniels?"

A long pause followed, "I understand. Approaching the building."

After a few minutes, she could see Daniels below the man, but she didn't dare to look at her because any movement could be her last.

"You know Fabray," Martinez voice rang in, "for someone who could kill you, he sure is taking his time." A soft grunt, "Over the wall. Approaching from your left Daniels."

"Copy."

Martinez also appeared beneath the building the man was standing on.

"On your go Fabray." Martinez said, trying to catch her breath. Quinn knew what this meant. Her team could be killed, depending on what, or better yet, who was in that building.

There was sweat dripping down her face and before she could give her command, a car came barreling towards her.

"FUCK! Move now!" She screamed as she dropped the IED. She reached to the front of her suit and grabbed the pistol from its holder, and in one fluid motion pointed it at the car, firing three shots into the windshield. She heard the car decelerating but didn't have time to look at it as she swung the gun towards the roof where the man was now punching in numbers as quickly as he could into the cell phone. She fired the remainder of her clip at him and watched his body fall lifelessly.

She looked down to the door and saw it opening, a barrel in view. Everything was happening too quickly, she didn't see where her team had fallen back to, "Door, there's a gun!" She aimed her pistol, just then remembering it was empty, before she felt her body be slammed to the side and felt it reconnecting with the ground. Looking to her side, she noticed now that the car was what moved her. Things were getting blurry, she could hear gunfire which was enough to cause her to roll over and grab another clip from her suit, reloading her pistol that she managed to hang onto while she flew like a bird thanks to the car.

Quinn used all of her strength to sit upright in the suit and then watched as the enemy soldiers that were leaving the building dropped to the ground quickly. Quinn looked up to see Daniels and Martinez still holding their guns, waiting for more to come out.

Visibly still shaken, Quinn grabbed onto the car and hoisted herself from the dirt. She limped, stiffly, towards Martinez who caught sight of her in her peripheral and rushed towards her.

"Easy Fabray." She grabbed onto the woman and began to unstrap the bomb suit. "Watch my ass, Daniels." She spoke quietly, not wanting to draw any more attention to them. "God Quinn, don't ever scare me like that again, alright?" When she looked into the shorter Latina's eyes she saw fear.

Martinez continued to unstrap the bomb suit, dusting her off as she went. "You just scream and then I hear shots being fired. One second you're on the ground and the next all we can see is a car. We thought you got hit."

Quinn scoffed. "Well, I kind of did."

Martinez just laughed and shook her head. "Well clearly not hard enough, you still have a smartass mouth." The Latina unstrapped the rest of it and shoved Quinn.

They took a second to stare at one another before Quinn turned to see Daniels still staring at the door where she had previously just shot the men. "Sasha?" Quinn asked, picking up her pistol and heading towards her friend.

Sasha continued to stare at the door. "Sasha? Hey come one, look at me." Quinn stepped into her line of sight and put her hand gently on her darker arm. "You alright?"

The question seemed to get Sasha's world tumbling again because she immediately threw up all over Quinn's boots.

"EWW fuckin' sick! Hahaha, nice!" Martinez hooted.

"Shut up Martinez." Quinn shut her down, and instead, grabbed Sasha by her arm and gently lead her towards their vehicle. Once there she helped her into the passenger seat. "Sasha, listen to me. It's alright. Martinez and I have to clear that building-"

"Are you out of your mind Quinn?" Sasha snapped. "They want us dead." She emphasized with a point in no particular direction. "That's why they came at us. I-the only reason…look I didn't want to come here and hurt anyone. EOD was supposed to be my way of keeping people, especially soldiers alive. Quinn I only shot those men because I didn't know if you were okay and I sure as hell wasn't going to let them hurt you or Martinez." Daniels took a shuddering breath and shook her head before looking Quinn dead in the eyes. "If you go in that house, they will kill you."

Quinn looked at Sasha, she could see how the struggle was affecting her. "When we get back to base we'll talk about this. I have to go Sasha." Quinn turned to shut the door before she felt Sasha grab her hand.

"Please Quinn. Don't go in there." The tears in her eyes began to fall.

Quinn gave her a sad smile. "In and out." She repeated what they always said to each other. The familiar crackled 'that's what she said.' Cam over the line, showing the Martinez was ready.

Sasha shook her head and gave an encouraging smile.

Rachel Berry was having an amazing day. Not only had she been dancing like a floating ballerina but Ms. July actually complemented her on it. Today couldn't get any better. And tonight would be the cherry on top. Quinn was going to call her at 9:00pm and although it would be around 5:00am for Quinn, knowing the other girl would probably be half awake, it would still put a smile on her face. So far their relationship hadn't been too intense. Although it was the beginning and the time that they did get to share together wasn't long, the skype calls were nice and the blonde was always making time for her.

Rachel strode up the stairs of their apartment complex and threw her key into the slot, and opened it to an irritated looking Santana.

Choosing to ignore the other girl's mood, she went about her schedule, going into the kitchen for a glass of water. Feeling Santana approaching she sighed internally. "Good afternoon." She said cheerfully.

"Is it really though, Berry?" Santana griped as she opened the fridge, staring into its contents.

"Why wouldn't it be? The sun is out, the birds are singing, the-" Santana walked over and clamped a hand over her mouth.

"God, please do not start singing." Santana sighed. "It's my aunt. She's sick."

Rachel softened instantly. "Oh Santana…" Rachel tried.

"Don't. I just-I don't know what to do. Of course I'm going to see her but I don't know how to tell Britts, or Q." Sighing once more, the Hispanic girl trotted over to the stool by the counter. "We were all so close to her when we were younger and she just gave us all of this hope for the future. And now she doesn't have one and I don't know what to do. God I wish I could just pick up the phone and call Quinn, but no, that's not even possible anymore."

Rachel went to open her mouth to defend her girlfriend but couldn't. What Santana was saying wasn't entirely false. There were many times where Rachel wished she could call the blonde but knew that it wasn't an option.

Instead, Rachel decided to sit down next to Santana. "Then talk to me."

Santana glanced up and huffed before looking away. When there was no sign that the diva was going anywhere Santana threw her head back. "Uggghhh fiiiiine." Cracking her neck she began, "She has cancer, and they can't do anything."

"Have they spoken with other doctors?" Rachel inserted.

"Of course. God- look I'm sorry I just- I need Quinn."

"She'll be available tonight-" Santana cut her off by slamming up out of her seat violently.

"You don't get it! I need her here, to talk to her about this crap, and insult her so she'll insult me back because that's just how we work. I need her here to hold my hand on the plane ride and let me cry all I can and not say a word. I want her to get drunk with me so I can get mad and hit something and then I want her here for when these next few weeks get bad." Santana panted, clearly out of breath from her long winded talk. Then, she fell to her knees and sobbed.

Rachel jumped from the chair and held onto her. Right when she was about to speak she remembered that the Latina had like that Quinn never said a thing while she cried. So for the next two hours, Rachel held Santana while she cried herself to sleep. And when Brittany got home from classes, she helped her carry the raven haired girl to bed. Brittany didn't ask for any explanations, just hugged Rachel and whispered thank you into her ear.

By the time everything was said and done, Rachel was exhausted so she went to her bed and laid down. She woke up to the sun shining into her eyes through the cracks in the blind. She groaned before seeing the clock flashing 7:30 at her, she flipped over and curled into her blankets once more. She thought of warmth and light kisses against her lips, familiar blonde hair and-"Quinn!" She checked the time again. She had slept all night and missed their skype date. "Shit." She sighed.

Heading back to base wasn't really back to base tonight, and to this was clearly bothering a certain blonde. "Ease up Fabgay, you'll miss one little skype sex date with your lady. We have bigger fish to fry." Martinez flashed her teeth.

Quinn loathed this day already, and one glance towards Sasha told her that she did as well. "Sasha?" That got the other woman's attention. "I know that what happened earlier was hard, but it might not be the last time. Sasha can you do this." She looked deeply at the older woman.

Shaking her head, Sasha gave her a bright smile. "Yeah Quinn, it was just my nerves. I hadn't ever, I don't know, pictured myself killing someone. But now? I guess I understand that if I want to protect my people, if all of us can come home safe, things will change." Sasha grabbed Quinn's hand and held tight. "I won't let you down. I have your back. Everyone's back." She nodded which Quinn returned.

The truck began to slow and everyone piled out.

"This should be good for now." A deep voice answered, pulling his bandana off of his face he smiled at Quinn. "Heard today was rough?"

"Something like that." Quinn replied.

He was her CO now, and Delta team leader, but from the day they had met he only told her one thing. Show him respect and she'd get respect back. There were no formalities unless on the battlefield, but downtime was meant to be just that. He had said that if they wanted to trust each other, formally talking to each other at all times was no way to go about it. One of her favorite things about David Wells was that he was a mean son of a bitch, but with his team he was the nicest man you could ever meet.

"It's not gonna change." He inhaled deeply, taking a moment to collect his thoughts. "From here on out it's gonna be a little different." He sat down on his gear that had been thrown out of the truck for the night.

"How so?" Quinn grabbed hers and set up next to him, watching the city they had just come from.

He spit out some of his chewing tobacco. "We're a very good team, I've never worked with women before but I can truly say that I have never had a better attachment to my team." He looked up at the sky and sighed. "Today caught you off guard, yeah?" Quinn responded with a slight nod. Shaking his head, Wells continued, "It can't anymore. We're going in further tomorrow and we're not leaving until we get our man. It might take a day, it might take weeks. But people are going to shoot at you, and swing at you, and they will try to take your life. I need you to be ready for that. I need you to tell your team this because that today, that was the last relaxing day. We're not splitting up anymore. Chances are the buildings we go to will have more men to deal with than bombs. Quinn you will have to kill more people, because if you don't, they will kill you. And they will kill us." He looked at her softly, she reminded him of his youngest daughter who was still in high school. He wasn't sure why this girl had chosen this life but it wasn't his to meddle in. "can you handle this?"

Quinn let out a humorless chuckle. "In and out right?"

He smacked her arm gently and gripped it. "Thatta girl.

**AN: Until next time.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Really quick, it's gonna be angsty. Sorry. I was going to tell you a story about my drunken adventure last night to lighten it up but, I seriously don't feel like typing anymore. Enjoy.**

"I don't understand why we have to spend so much time here. Their guy isn't here and I'm sick of this place already." Martinez grumbled as she parked her body on the sidewalk next to Quinn. "He didn't say anything about his guy? No descriptions?"

"No, and he's not our concern." Quinn answered automatically. She'd been answering the same questions for the past two weeks and it was really starting to get on her nerves. Quinn pulled her sunglasses from her eyes and raised a brow at Martinez.

"Oh come one. Cut that shit out, you know that it doesn't work on me and it only gets Daniels all hot and bothered.

Quinn could feel Daniels chuckling softly next to her. "Oh yeah, definitely. There's nothing more that I need." She said it sultry and winked at Martinez.

Martinez stood up and began to walk down an alley. "Well if you keep up all of this flirting then we're going to have to fu-" Martinez cut out completely.

"What's that?" Quinn asked mockingly. "Cat got your tongue, Martinez?" Daniels nudged Quinn and continued to laugh. "Martinez come on." Quinn spat into the mic. "It's not funny anymore, cut it out," Quinn said as she stood and walked towards the corner that Martinez had turned down. She rounded the corner and kicked something black. Bending down, she picked up Martinez's mic. "Shit." She looked up in time to see two men dragging someone off towards a truck. "Daniels," Quinn spoke into her mic, "Turn right and go up six blocks. There's a white work van, they're trying to get Martinez into it." Quinn panted and continued her sprint. The two men clearly saw her and tried to drag the other woman faster.

"STOP!" Quinn screamed, hoping that it wouldn't lead to a confrontation. She had enough blood on her hands these days, it was to the point that she hated being alone for any extended period of time.

There was shouting in another language and the dirt on the roads was being splattered away and chipped concrete appeared. Quinn slid into a nearby alley, which led almost directly into a house. A woman began shouting at her, "Stop, I don't know what you're saying." She tried, the woman began to push at her and slap her. "Daniels, they're on the rooves."

"Copy." She could hear the other woman still running. "I'm almost there, am I clear to engage?"

Quinn couldn't help but compare this Daniels to the Daniels of two weeks prior. She had kept her word and when her team was put in danger she used the necessary force. "You're clear." Quinn said without emotion. "I'm moving right, I'll try to draw their fire and then maybe I can find a-" A young boy decided to run from the house at that moment, the woman was still screaming at Quinn but then tried to race for the boy. Quinn managed to grab the woman in time but she was too late for the boy. The guns opened up and the little boy fell to the ground. They shot him a few more times while Quinn and the mother could only sit and watch. Once their fire had ceased the woman began to struggle in Quinn's arms shouting at her in a foreign tongue. Quinn took several deep breaths and rose to her feet, letting the woman go as she did. The woman rushed forward and so did Quinn. The first man was on the roof a few feet away, and above them. She pulled up and fired twice, not caring to watch his lifeless body crumble. She aimed at the other two who were on the roof to the right, they had been closing in on her location. She ran while she fired and could hear their guns fall.

"Targets eliminated," She spoke to Daniels. "Where are you?" Her answer came in the firing of a weapon. Quinn decided to go silent and began to sprint with her rifle in her hands. She could still see the truck which meant that Daniels was probably the reason they hadn't been able to leave. "Daniels I'm coming up on the back, where are you?" Quinn knew that the guns were quiet but that didn't mean their targets were out.

"Ease up Fabray, don't get too close." Daniels' voice was trembling.

"Daniels what's up?" Quinn was aiming down her sights, looking everywhere and watching the rooves and the alleys.

"I hit one but the other is still out here," She whispered to Quinn. "I think they knocked Martinez out." She was quiet, "Or they killed her." The last part was barely audible. "Quinn, I'm standing on a bomb."

Quinn could only stare out at the alleys. Her breathing was sharp and hard, "Daniels, where are you?"

There was no response. Quinn saw movement around the corner so she pushed up against the van.

"Easy Quinn!" Daniels hissed. "I'm in the van."

"Oh shit." Quinn sighed.

Rachel sighed as she logged into skype and saw that Quinn was still offline. The blonde girl had called her telling her that she wasn't sure when she would get back to camp and that their only form of communication for a while would be a satellite phone. It wasn't her phone, though, everyone had to use it and that was also how they received some orders. On top of that, Rachel wasn't allowed to call the phone, it was blocked anyways. They had short increments where they could talk and so far in the past two weeks, they had only spoken about an hour total. She wouldn't complain, though, Quinn sounded exhausted and she didn't want to burden her any further. Santana had been struggling these past two weeks, and Rachel had tried so hard to be like Quinn for her. It wasn't working and so half of the apartment was depressed, Brittany was not taking it well either. And to top it all off her aunt had much less time than the doctors had guessed. Today they were going to say their last goodbyes to the woman. Quinn didn't know about any of this and Rachel wasn't sure how to approach the topic.

"Still not answering?" Santana had stopped by the couch on her way to get ready for bed.

"Santana it's not like that. You know that she can't-"

"Yeah, thanks. I gathered, okay? She's not allowed to talk, she doesn't have a computer, and she's not here." Santana was getting worked up again and Rachel knew that it was only a matter of time before she began yelling. "I'm tired, Rachel. Every time that I've needed her, the military has come first. And now? Now she's going to miss saying goodbye to someone who has loved her, and all three of us, like their own. I'm done with her. There's no excuse that can make up for this. I'm sorry but you should get out while you can too." And with that, Santana returned to her room.

"Wow," Rachel said, closing her laptop and raising her hands. "Today is great." She whispered to the empty room.

Quinn delicately removed herself from the van's side. "Please tell me that you did not say that you're inside of the van." Quinn angrily whispered.

"Yeah, I wish I wasn't in here either but shit happens." Daniels was starting to become irritable.

"Just keep still and try not to move a lot." Quinn tried to calm her.

"Oh geez, thanks, like I didn't know that." Came her smartass response.

Quinn was taken back by this, Daniels rarely gave her attitude and when she did it was always in good humor. "Watch it, Daniels." Quinn spat. "Let me find this guy and then I'll get your ass out of tha-" Gun shots erupted around Quinn and she hit the ground, crawling under the van towards the feet that were attached to the one spraying bullets into the van. Quinn felt her gun cutting into her as she crawled. She reached his feet right as his clip ran out.

"Die you American bitches!" He screamed, and Quinn chose that moment to grab his ankles, yanking him towards her and hearing his body crack against the cement road. She drug herself out as he squirmed to get free, kicking her in the face as she went. He smelled like liquor and cigarettes and his face was completely covered, she knew he was a suicider and she knew the switch in his hand was the dead switch. She clawed into his wrists, causing him to drop it. He was much stronger than she so he flipped her easily onto her back. He hit her a few times, making her world spin and start to blur. Leaning in close enough for her to feel his hot breath, his beard tickling her ear, he whispered, "I'm going to enjoy this very much." His thick accent hitting her strong. She felt his body tense up on top of her and could hear the slight whimpers erupting from the back of his throat. He moved back slowly and she pushed him hard, causing him to fall to the side once more. His blood was pouring all over her and she could tell by the color that her knife had hit an artery deep within him. She jumped on top of him and grasped his neck, he was still strong and she feared he may get away. Nothing was firing right in her brain, she couldn't process what she was doing, just that it was happening. It was like an out of body experience. She tightened her hold on his neck and felt watched as his veins began to appear on his face and neck. She tightened more. "Not as much as I will." She spoke through clenched teeth. Soon his shaking and strength dissipated. Quinn shakily stood from his body and looked down at her hands. There wasn't a spot without blood. She was then hit with the thought of her friends, and swung her leg over his corpse and towards the van, not caring what she was doing she flung the doors open. Daniels was hunched over Martinez and Quinn felt her world shattering. Quinn felt tears stream down her sweat and dirt covered face. She could feel her left eye swelling shut and the cut on her lip pouring blood. She noticed the pistol strapped to her side and tried to remember why she didn't just shoot him instead of strangling him. It didn't matter now, though, it was all for nothing. Her hand ghosted over the gun, she looked to his dead body and the bodies of her friends. The fact that there was no blood on or near them wasn't registering. She just wanted to make it stop, she couldn't tell what blood was hers. Quinn unbuckled the gun and removed it from its holster. Knowing that it was loaded she brought it up to her head and looked at her friends one last time. She closed her eyes and her finger was tight against the trigger. "Until we meet again." She uttered.

"Quinn stop!" She heard a scream and felt a body hit hers. The gun slid and Quinn reached for it, struggling against the foreign body.

"Let go of me!" She screamed, grabbing the gun and using the van to prop herself up. She was met with the terrified eyes of Sasha and stared at her hands that were in surrender but reaching out.

"Quinn, it's me," She said as she carefully stepped towards her CO. "Quinn, put the gun down." She said, and the statement sounded repeated.

The blonde soldier looked to her hands and saw that the pistol was aimed directly at Sasha. Upon discovering this, she dropped the gun and backed away with her hands up. "How-I don't? How are you alive? The van was shot." She shakily said while the tears began to pour. "You were on that bomb and you both looked dead." Quinn felt her back touch the van.

Sasha stepped towards the pistol and quickly snatched it up, tucking it into her pants. "Quinn, listen to me." She supplied, slowly advancing towards her. "We have to contact the others, Martinez got hit pretty hard and I think they gave her a serious concussion when they did it."

"Then get a hold of them." Quinn stated, still not understanding what was currently happening. The change in her mood happened very rapidly and Sasha flinched from it.

"You have the phone, Quinn." Sasha pointed to her belt loop.

"Oh." Quinn said nonchalantly. "Here then." She pulled it from her loop, not paying any concern to the blood. She tossed it to Daniels who continued to stare at her.

"Quinn, are you okay?" She asked gently.

Quinn laughed full on and then sighed. "Of course, Daniels. Why wouldn't I be?" She looked at Sasha like she really wanted an answer and all Sasha could do was stare back in fear.

"Right…" Quinn smiled and shook her head. "Well…I guess I'll go check on Martinez while you call them, Rachel." Quinn began to climb up into the van.

"What did you call me?" Sasha stopped her with a hand on her wrist.

Quinn turned and looked down at their hands, her face morphed into so many pained emotions at once that Sasha feared she may pass out. "I-I'm sorry I…" She looked into Daniels' eyes. "Call them, we'll talk about this later." Quinn turned around and began to slide into the van, but stopped short. "Please don't say anything to them about this, Sasha." Quinn looked deeply at her.

In Sasha's mind, she knew that she needed to tell someone. Quinn clearly had snapped for a minute and that's exactly how people started to lose it. But she couldn't tell anyone, she wouldn't. Not even if she wanted to. She knew it was selfish but she needed Quinn, they all did. She'd just have to watch out for her.

"Sir, we're requesting assistance. Two friendlies injured and several targets down." Daniels recited.

The crackling of movement came back through the phone. "Roger, moving towards your position now. Over and out." Came the only reply.

Sasha looked into the back of the van and watched as Quinn tried to stabilize Martinez' head, Quinn caught her eyes and gave a half-assed smile.

And for the first time since they landed in this hellhole, Sasha Daniels was truly afraid none of them would make it home.

Santana was sitting next to her aunt, watching as her breathing slowed, and knew that eventually it would not return. Rachel couldn't do anything, she didn't even know where she would start, however, she did know that Quinn needed to be here. She should be the one who's here not Rachel. And her anger flared towards the soldier once more as the breathing didn't return. Santana wailed while Brittany rushed forward, holding back her own tears and grasping onto the Latina for dear life.

They had decided to head home for Lima about a week ago. Rachel hadn't received any calls from her girlfriend and she gave Quinn the benefit of the doubt for a little while. At first, she thought that maybe the other girl had been busy, but after two days she knew that wasn't the case, she would've called to just check in. Then she started to worry that maybe the other girl was injured or perhaps she had been killed. She cried for several hours on this thought. After another two days of waiting, she realized that they would have contacted Judy by now and the woman would have told them. So she had been furious for the past three days at the blonde. She thought that Quinn was just being rude and now she was wondering if the blonde was breaking up with her and she wanted to go about it in a non-confrontational way.

Rachel slipped out of the room in hopes of giving Santana some space, so that she could be with her aunt to really say her final goodbyes. She took a seat directly outside of the room and stared at her cell phone. Perfect service but no missed calls. She was starting to question why she didn't think more about this relationship. She knew that she loved Quinn, she could feel it burning her soul but she didn't know if love could be stretched so far and thin. Sure it had only been a week, but the previous two she had spent barely even hearing from the other girl. And yes she was in danger at all times when she was "outside of the wire" but Rachel shouldn't have to suffer too.

Maybe their timing would never be right, maybe it was time they talked and decided that they should look for other pe- her thought was interrupted when she saw a blonde with a sock bun dressed in tan jeans and a gray thermal with the sleeves pushed up, marching towards her. "Quinn?" She whispered, and when she came closer she could see it was her. Without thought, she ran towards the blonde who must have caught on because she opened her arms wide and braced herself.

Rachel flew, quite literally, into her arms and breathed in her scent. "Oh my God Quinn." She felt hot tears streaming down her face, but he mind was at peace with the feeling of the other girls heart beating against hers. "Quinn." She sobbed.

She felt the other girl laugh gently and wrap her up tighter. "Rachel. I'm so sorry I didn't call." Quinn pulled back to look at her.

That wiped the smile off of the short brunette's face. She took a step back and glanced towards the room Santana was currently occupying. "Do you have any idea how much has happened? Not to mention how angry and hurt Santana is? And how hurt and angry I am?" The brunette was fuming and she looked into Quinn's eyes. Or…eye? Her left eye was mostly swollen shut, and her face was covered in healing bruises, not to mention the stitches that were in her lip. "My God Quinn!" She spoke in anger but also concern. "What the hell happened?" She cursed.

Rachel stepped forward and delicately touched her face. "Rachel, I'm fine. My CO gave me time off or a few weeks alright?" Quinn peered into the singer's eyes. "Please let me make these past few weeks up. I know I haven't been there for you and it's not fair to you. Please give me a chance to fix all of this." She waved her hand around towards nothing and everything.

Rachel felt her chin quiver and Quinn automatically reached out and stroke her face. "Quinn, what happened?" Rachel repeated.

Quinn brushed it off and attempted to leave. "I should go check on Santana."

Rachel reached out and grabbed Quinn. "Quinn…"

Sighing, Quinn grabbed Rachel and kissed her. Fireworks exploded behind both of their eyes. Reluctantly, Quinn pulled back and stared into Rachel's eyes. "Let me see Santana and then we'll talk, okay?" She offered.

Rachel nodded but grabbed Quinn's hand and walked toward the room with her. "We will talk about this though." She added.

**When Quinn said "Until we meet again" it's actually a tattoo that I got last week in memory of my grandma. Review please.**


	7. Chapter 7

Quinn crept alongside of a building in Iraq. When she first had the thought of joining the military, she didn't think that they would deploy her. In a way, she hoped for that kind of excitement, but now that she was here she was regretting it mildly.

At times like these, when her crew was mindlessly walking around and trying to find bombs while the Special Operations team was off doing its thing, she would let her mind drift to what her life could have been like if she hadn't have joined. Maybe she would be with Santana, Brittany, Kurt and… Rachel.

"Rachel…" She whispered under her breath. Her mind spinning to her last encounter with the shorter woman.

*Flash back to Lima*

_Quinn watched Rachel pace around her room almost frantically. She figured this was how the brunette tended to think about things most accurately. She couldn't help but smile softly at the other woman, wondering what could be going through her mind._

_"So are you planning on making a little track in my carpet with all of that pacing or can you please sit down?" Quinn asked with a smile._

_Rachel stopped as soon as she heard Quinn's voice and blushed. It had been a week since the passing of Santana's aunt and Rachel had hardly seen Quinn. She knew that Quinn's mother wanted and deserved to spend time with her but she couldn't lie…she was jealous. Quinn had talked to Santana in the hospital but when Rachel asked what had been seen Quinn merely shrugged and began to walk away. The next day Santana sent her a very clear text. It read: "I don't know wht has hapned w/ Q. done w/ her shit."_

_Rachel knew right away that the meeting between friends had definitely left in a falling out but she was unsure as to why Quinn seemed so at ease with it._

_Clearing her throat, Rachel sat at the computer chair opposite to Quinn. "Right. Quinn I-" Rachel began, still noticing the discoloration from the bruises on her face. "What happened?" Rachel instead asked._

_Quinn rose and eyebrow at her. "What do you mean?"_

_"Your face! What happened?" Rachel blurted._

_Quinn smiled at reached for Rachel's hands. "It's nothing." She said calmly. _

_Rachel immediately withdrew her hands and stood. "It's not nothing!" Rachel yelled. "You've been so secretive! First with not being able to see where you are, when you'll be back, and for what reason. And now? You do come back, after not talking to me for a week! You didn't even make it clear as to when I'd hear from you again! You just show up in Lima, have some secret conversation with Santana, which apparently has led to the end of your friendship, and then disappear for another week! This is that only time that I've seen you since you've made it back." Rachel was pacing again. Quinn was watching her, eyebrows knitted together._

_Quinn stood, stopping Rachel from pacing, and approached her. "Rachel…Santana can be dramatic."_

_"Dramatic?" Rachel said, stepping away. "She lost her aunt, Quinn. There's nothing dramatic about needing a friend's support." _

_"She has Brittany for that." Quinn waved off, turning back to sit on the bed again. "She doesn't need me to listen to her every problem." Quinn sighed and watched Rachel move to grab her coat from the back of the computer chair. _

_Quinn hopped up from the bed as Rachel grabbed the handle to her bedroom door. "Where are you going?" Quinn asked, her heart beating almost out of her chest._

_She watched as Rachel's head dropped, before the girl turned to look at her. "I'm going to Santana's, Quinn. She's very upset." Rachel pulled the door open but stopped just before walking out. "You know I've never had very many friends. But this," Rachel motioned to Quinn This isn't how you treat them, even I know that." Rachel smiled sadly at Quinn. "Goodbye Quinn."_

*End Flashback*

Quinn heard shouting from inside of the building that she had been walking against. She didn't understand any of the words but she knew she had to be on her toes. She had to stop thinking about her life when the life of her team was always in her hands. "Heads up, Daniels, we got some unknowns inside." Quinn spoke softly, listening as her earpiece crackled to life.

"Roger that. How many?" Daniels spoke clearly.

Quinn pushed her body as close to the building as possible and snuck along until she saw a window. She said a silent prayer and peaked her head up slowly. Seven men came into view and all were armed.

Ducking down quickly, Quinn carefully spoke. "Seven unknowns, all armed."

Quinn waited to hear the crackle again. "Should we treat them as hostiles?" Daniels came back through the earpiece.

Quinn ground her teeth together, irritated because of the unknown. She was aware of a lot at the moment. She was aware of the sweat that was dripping down her face, and the taste of sand in her mouth. She was aware that they were in a busy city and that these men may very well know of their presence already. She was also aware of the last thing that Rachel had said to her. She was aware of the last thing that her best friend had also said to her. She felt her anger bubbling up deep within her.

"Fabray?" Came the familiar crackle and sound of Daniels voice. "Are we clear to treat them as hostile?"

Quinn rocked slightly on her crouched feet. "Unclear." Quinn spoke before standing slowly and walking past the window, intentionally catching their sight. She pretended to do a double take when she walked past.

With her finger hovering above the trigger of her gun, she turned to look at the men. She was clearly outnumbered, and they knew that too. She reached up slowly and rested her hand barely against her chest, her finger now hovering over the communication button of her headset. She was giving them a chance. Not a chance to live, a chance to show her if they were hostile or not. She felt her heart beating like it did on her last day in Lima. Her last night in the United States.

*Flashback*

_Quinn had been making dinner all night, she wanted to surprise her mom with a nice meal before she had to leave tomorrow to ship out. She knew that it was extremely rare for someone to be sent home for such a short time just to see someone else's family member before they died, so she was thankful for that. She knew that once she got back her stay there this time was going to be much longer. She wasn't going to see her mother for months. And that was if she came back at all. _

_She was knocked out of her thoughts by the sound of the front door closing. The familiar sound of heels against the solid wood floors made Quinn smile. _

_"Quinn?" Her mom was at the foot of the staircase, calling up._

_"I'm in here mom!" Quinn called back from the kitchen, her timer alerting her that the lasagna was done. Quinn wasn't much of a baker, hell she wasn't much of a cook. This was proven by the fact that what should have taken her 45 minutes to complete this simple recipe, ended up taking her two whole hours to do. Minus the cook time._

_Quinn watched as her mom's face instantly lit up at the smell of the dinner she was cooking._

_Her mother hugged her once she was in reach and didn't let go, instead, she deepened it and kissed the side of her temple. She pulled away, rubbing Quinn's arms before speaking up. "It smells delicious! What did you make?" _

_"Lasagna." Quinn turned around and headed back to start cutting out two pieces. "Your favorite." She smiled at her mom, and just then, then door bell rang._

_"Are you expecting someone?" Judy asked as she headed towards the door._

_Quinn quickly walked ahead of her and shook her head, smiling. "No, but you've worked all day so let me get it." Judy looked like she was about to argue but the rumble of her stomach gave it away. "You're hungry, go eat."_

_Judy sighed in defeat and smiled. "Whoever it is, tell them your mother wants to spend time with you so they need to leave." Judy laughed to herself and winked._

_Quinn rolled her eyes and headed for the door. She knew her mother would never actually ask her to say that, or condone that kind of behavior but it still cracked her up._

_She was almost to the door when the bell was rang several times in a row, she rolled her eyes in irritation. _

_"Some people…" Quinn muttered under her breath. _

_Quinn swung the door open just as the door bell was rung several more times._

_"For the love of- Santana?" Quinn looked at her best friend who looked in an awful state. The other girl was stumbling slowly and her hair was disheveled. "Santana?" Quinn reached out for the other girl, who immediately stumbled away in anger. "Santana, have you been drinking?" Quinn said as she stepped outside, closing the door behind her._

_This seemed to get Santana's attention because her face distorted into rage. "Oh so you care now?" She slurred at Quinn, barely holding herself up. _

_"Santana, you need to sit down before you fall down." Quinn stepped towards her again and this time was met with no resistance. However, once Santana was seated, Quinn was shoved away. _

_"Don't pretend like you care!" Santana yelled at her. "You didn't give a shit in the hospital! You treated it like you'd never known her! You treated me like I was nothing to you!" Santana huffed under her breath. "You know Rachel has been around more than you? The girl who we fucking hated in high school. The one we teased and tortured every single day. She has been a better friend to me than you have." _

_Quinn sat next to Santana, listening to everything she had to say. She was calling her every word she could think of and some in Spanish, too. _

_Quinn wasn't sure why she had behaved how she had. Well, she was but it wasn't an excuse. She should've known to leave what happened in that hell-hole, there. Not bring it back with her. She was hurting her friends and her girlfriend. She was being selfish. _

_"You have no right to even have us as friends! Do me a favor and stop trying to make excuses. Just don't come back next time!" Santana yelled in a fit of rage._

_"Santana I-," Santana swung at her, Quinn backed up far enough that she fell off of the steps they were sitting. She hit her back and as it connected with the ground she was back in Iraq. Back to the man on top of her, the smell of his breath and the utter hatred that filled his body as he struggled for his life. As he struggled against her, trying to take hers. _

_She felt the blood pounding in her ears and when she looked up she saw Santana staring at her as Brittany held her up. Quinn was shaking and staring at her hands. She saw Rachel slowly walking towards her, hands out in concern. She could hear herself mumbling something but she couldn't make out the words. Her mom was in the doorway, door fully open as she stood in shock with her hands covering her mouth._

_The sound returned to the world and she heard herself finally. She heard the words that were leaving her mouth and she immediately clamped her mouth shut. _

_"Quinn? Quinn, sweetheart I'm right here." Rachel was saying, slowly walking towards her._

*End Flashback*

Her thoughts were racing as she started at the men who had their guns dangling in their hands. She knew that this was a stupid idea and she knew that if anyone saw her doing this that she could get in serious trouble. She wasn't just risking her life; she was risking the lives of her team and she was jeopardizing the mission.

She held the button of her headset and spoke firmly. "Clear."

She let her hand fall to its original position and marched forward. As terrifying as it was to see guns on people who could very well be a threat, it was a very real reality in Iraq. So many people carried guns and Quinn couldn't always see them as hostile, right? If she did then she would have taken many more lives than she already had.

"What took you so long Fabray?" Daniels voice came over the headset as she also came into view at a street down the way. Quinn assumed they were making eye contact as they spoke. "I wasn't sure. They didn't look too friendly." She laughed into her com, "I gave them a chance to show me otherwise." Quinn finished.

She watched as Daniels disappeared behind a building before reappearing and making her way towards her. "Classic Fabray I suppose." Quinn could hear the joking undertone. "The coms have been so nice since Martinez has been resting, I have to say."

Quinn laughed, "Yeah, well she's back in two weeks so don't get used to it."

Quinn waited as Daniels approached and saw the big smile on her face. "I couldn't forget that irritating shit even if I wanted to." She complained. "That girl has a very distinct way of getting under my skin."

Quinn patted Daniels on the shoulder. "Don't worry, only four more months."

Daniels groaned while Quinn laughed at their situation.

Quinn lay awake in her bunk that night, Daniels sleeping in the cot that was next to hers. She couldn't remember the last time that she had slept as well as Daniels did.

The blonde soldier rolled onto her back and stared up at the darkness.

*Flashback*

_Quinn was sitting in a coffee shop in the airport. Her plane was going to be ready to board soon and from the way that Rachel kept glancing up at her sadly, she knew what she had to do._

_"You want to know what happened." Quinn supplied for Rachel. The brunette's eyes quickly snapped to her and she began shaking her head rapidly in agreement. _

_"Quinn you kept saying you had to do it. What did you have to do?" Rachel spoke quietly, softly. Rachel reached over and entwined their hands._

_Quinn looked deep into Rachel's eyes before she spoke. "Rachel I-I can't do this."_

_Quinn watched as Rachel's face paled. "Wha-what?" Rachel acted like a fish out of water. "I….I don't understand."_

_"It's not fair to you. It's not fair that you have to wait for me." _

_Rachel immediately interrupted her, "I don't care! I'll wait, okay? I'll…I'll be more patient, and-and understanding!" Rachel smiled as a tear escaped her eye. "Please Quinn, I'll do anything." Rachel was almost about to break, Quinn could see this._

_"It's not anything that you're doing. Rachel, you need to experience New York and college and life. You deserve that." Quinn could see the small part of Rachel that was agreeing. "You can't experience that with me. You don't need me…not right now." Quinn grasped Rachel's hands in her own. The other girl was shaking just as much as she was._

_"I love you Rachel Barbra Berry." Quinn spoke softly. _

_She heard the loud alarm on Rachel's phone alerting them both that it was time for Quinn to leave._

_Quinn went to speak before Rachel interrupted her. "Don't you dare say goodbye to me." Rachel stood then, Quinn decided it would be best if she stood even if her legs felt weak._

_Rachel hugged her tight then. She wrapped her arms around her neck and breathed softly against her ear. "You are coming back." Rachel whispered. "You're coming back and when you get back you're going to have to court me all over again." Rachel said through tears._

_Quinn let out a soft, watery laugh. "If I have to."_

_Rachel pulled back breaking the embrace. She kissed Quinn gently once more, her tongue reaching out. Quinn tasted the faint hint of vanilla on her lips. In the second that her lips were on Quinn's, they were gone. When Quinn opened her eyes Rachel was gone._

_Thirty minutes later Quinn was walking to board her plane. She had a feeling that told her to look back and when she did, scanning the crowd, she saw Rachel standing amongst people. She had her arms folded across her chest, her face had tears rolling down it._

_Quinn gave a small wave but it wasn't returned. She turned and walked on, ready for whatever came next._


	8. Chapter 8

"I mean damn, as much as I like myself a nice piece of ass this guy was a Marine. A Marine! There's not much there in the brain department so I had to pass." Martinez had been talking no stop since she had returned to their base, awaiting clearance to finally be back on active duty with them had been certainly driving her crazy.

Quinn stood then, wiping her mouth and trying to clear the smile from her face. "Well I thought you two would have gotten along nicely then." Quinn looked pointedly at Martinez.

"Yeah?" The other woman said in-between a bite of food, "How do you figure?"

Quinn started walking slowly and turned back casually. "You know, the whole…lacking a brain thing." Daniels laughed loudly at this while Martinez stood and chucked a roll at Quinn's head.

Quinn laughed and ducked to dodge it, still continuing forward without looking forward. She then headbutted something somewhat solid.

Looking up, Quinn saw that it was a Commander. She immediately stood upright and straightened, giving him a proper salute.

He saluted back and before she could give him the proper address, he stopped her. "I need to speak with you immediately."

She nodded and didn't bother looking back at her friends. Her heart was pounding, the only time that any one higher up in ranking needed to talk to her was if she was going to be going outside of the wire for a while. And that usually meant that she'd be out for a few weeks at least.

"Sargent Fabray, take a seat." The Commander, whose name she barely caught, spoke to her once they reached his office.

He didn't take his seat right away, instead he paced over to a window and looked out. "You know, I've heard a lot about your squad." He turned and looked at her then. He proceeded to walk forward and take his seat, letting out a breath as he sat. "Look, shit is getting heated out there, but I don't need to tell you that. Hell, I heard you took someone on in hand to hand combat."

"Thank you sir, but I'm not sure what that really has to do with anything." Quinn knew she wasn't speaking quite appropriately to him but she'd rather not think about that day.

"It's damn impressive!" He smiled at her in a way that gave her a shiver. She didn't want to be acknowledged for what she had done. He leaned forward on his elbows, "I need you and your squad to attach to some Marines." He smiled when Quinn smiled unintentionally, she was thinking back to lunch and he was taking her smile as excitement it seemed. "It's great news, right? They're already shipped out there and we need to get you guys out there sooner than later. We put a rush on it, you'll be leaving at 1400 hours." He stood then, which Quinn followed. "It's hard to soldiers that are willing to go that extra mile. You have that Fabray." HE stuck his hand out in a way Quinn had rarely encountered with her other CO's.

Quinn immediately met him halfway and gave him the strongest handshake she could muster at that moment. "Thank you sir. When do we need to be here to be briefed?"

He laughed, "Let's make it 1300 hours. That'll give you a chance to let the people back home know you'll be out of contact for a bit. Dismissed"

Quinn rushed out of his office and as quickly as her feet could carry her, she rushed back to the table that she had been having lunch at. She noticed that her squad was still there, Martinez was cackling at something, her cheeks bright red. When Quinn came into view the smile on Martinez's face dropped causing Daniels to turn and watch Quinn approach. She had concern written on her face.

"What is it?" Daniels said before Quinn sat down.

Quinn straddled the bench and took in a deep breath. "We just got assigned to a group of Marines."

Martinez spoke up, cutting Quinn off. "Yes! Finally we can get to it!" She smiled at Quinn. "God, I thought someone had died by the look on your face!"

Daniels was staring off, no doubt thinking about her daughter. Quinn put her hand on Daniels. "You need to call her. We are getting briefed at 1300."

Daniels eyebrows drew together. "Why so soon?"

"Because they know we kick ass!" Martinez laughed. "About time we get recognized!"

"Will you shut up for a second!?" Daniels snapped. Turning back to Quinn, she pried for an answer. "Why so soon, Quinn?"

Quinn ground her teeth together and pinched the base of her nose in frustration. "Because they need us out there soon. We leave at 1400."

Daniels stood and began to walk towards the make shift trailer that held the computers for skyping.

Quinn turned to look at Martinez who shrugged. Quinn slid off of the bench and jogged after Daniels.

She caught her by the arm which Daniels then jerked away. Quinn held her hands up for a moment. "Easy Daniels, I just want to know what's going on."

"What's going on?" Daniels almost yelled. She ducked closer to Quinn. "What's going on is that my husband only needs one more reason to take away my child." Daniels said in a harsh whisper. "What's going on is that he wants to play house with some Barbie bitch he met online."

Quinn took another step back, Daniels turned and began marching again. "Look, I know that I can't possibly understand-"

Daniels immediately turned and got back into Quinn's personal space. "That's right, you _can't _understand so don't try to." Daniels finished it with an angry huff and walked the rest of the way to the trailer, slamming its door in the process.

"Woah! Looks like things are finally starting to blow up between you two!" Martinez said suggestively as she walked up behind Quinn.

"Go call your parents, Martinez." Quinn said in deflection, not in the mood to joke around with her.

"Is that an order, ma'am?" Martinez continued.

Quinn turned to her and cocked an eyebrow which made Martinez shut up at once.

"Alright, I'm going." Martinez then headed towards the trailer while Quinn followed.

Quinn didn't expect many people to be using skype. She saw only five of the black curtains pulled and knew that this meant Daniels had at least reached someone. Quinn walked to an open spot furthest away from the rest. She could barely hear anyone, only murmurs and such.

Pulling the curtain behind her, Quinn pulled up skype and logged on. Her heart dropped when she saw that no one was online. Of course, they were on the other side of the world, no wonder no one was on. She was about to sign off when she her the telltale jingle of a call incoming.

It was fuzzy for a moment before she saw tired eyes but a smile on the face nonetheless.

"Hey baby." Came the dry, crackly voice.

Quinn smiled at this. "Hey mom." She said, surprising herself with tears appearing in her eyes. "What are you doing up so late?" Quinn asked around the frog in her throat.

She knew that her mom could tell she was upset. "Oh you know how I get, one second I can be sleeping away peacefully and the next…the dog next door howls uncontrollably."

Quinn laughed gently at this. The feud between her mom and the dog next door had been going on for a little over three months now. "Maybe you should try to make nice with him." Quinn suggested.

Quinn could see the horror all over her mom's pixelated face.

"I will do nothing of the sort!" Judy squealed in protest.

Quinn laughed heartily at this before she calmed. "I have a feeling you're online at this time for a particular reason." Judy said with dismay.

Quinn could feel the tears threatening to spill. "Yeah mom." She barely managed to get out.

Judy sighed, and for a while there was no talking. They were just sitting there, feeling each other's emotions across so many miles. Sighing, Judy looked up again, silently taking in all of Quinn's fuzzy features on her screen. "When will I hear from you again?" Judy asked softly.

"Okay, thank you for letting me know." Brittany pressed end on her phone and walked into the kitchen where Santana was making her breakfast.

Rachel had appeared in the kitchen while Brittany was on the phone. The singer looked drained, and before Brittany could return the smile that Rachel was giving her she heard footsteps. Brittany turned then, pretending to busy herself with making a cup of coffee.

"Hey babe." Came the irritating voice. Brittany could her a slight kiss. "I have to run but I'll catch up with you guys at the show?"

"Of course!" Rachel squealed, probably from her companion doing something adorable. Brittany rolled her eyes. It wasn't that she hated Jamie, she just didn't trust the girl. Jamie always seemed to want to steal the spotlight from Rachel and Rachel didn't seem to be noticing it.

"Bye guys!" She heard Santana hum in some kind of acknowledgement. Brittany smiled softly. She was proud that her girlfriend was taking her side on her dislike of Jamie.

Santana spoke up once the front door clicked closed. "Who called?" She smiled at Brittany who looked anywhere but at Santana.

"Umm, you know." Brittany shrugged. She knew that wasn't an explanation but she wasn't sure what to say to either of the people in the room, especially when it came to this topic.

"Right…" Santana said, scooping the facon onto Rachel's plate along with her pancakes free of anything that could hurt her vegan diet. Brittany wasn't sure when Santana had started watching out for Rachel's diet, she supposes it just happened naturally.

"Well, if you want your bacon…" Santana watched as Brittany narrowed her eyes. "Hey, I'm just saying, I'll gladly take it.

"Fine." Brittany relented.

Santana smiled and scooped the remaining bacon onto Brittany's plate. She grabbed both of their plates after she had shoved Rachel's into her arms. "Grab my drink please?" Santana asked Brittany who smiled back before grabbing Santana's coffee and followed both girls into the living area where they sat to eat their Saturday breakfast together and watch silly cartoons.

Brittany tried to stall, she filled her mouth with her food and acted like she was enthralled with the current cartoon, but when it was over she knew she couldn't stall any longer.

Rachel reached to the coffee table and flicked the tv on mute with the remote. "So who called?" Rachel asked, wondering why Brittany still hadn't brought it up. She was never secretive when it came to Santana.

Brittany looked at Rachel who still looked bad from the night before which she had spent clubbing with Jamie. She then looked at Santana who had bags under her eyes. She knew that both of them were stressed from school and work, but she also knew they were concerned for Quinn. She was the only one keeping in touch with Quinn at the moment. They talked twice a week and Brittany knew that Quinn was also struggling. She knew that something had happened the last time she had been there. And she also now knew that Quinn would be going back into direct combat soon.

Rachel and Santana had odd ways of finding out about Quinn. Santana would always ask her would she had been skyping even though Brittany knew that she had been leaning against the door frame and listening in as she and Quinn talked. She also knew that Rachel would also do this, more so than Santana.

Brittany also knew that Rachel still loved Quinn. She knows that Rachel also sometimes calls Quinn on skype during the day. Rachel does it in the middle of the day, knowing that Quinn won't be on but it doesn't stop her. Quinn has told her this and that she never leaves messages.

_"Why don't you just call her back?" Brittany had asked._

_"Because she isn't ready, B." Quinn had replied. "I'm just afraid that she never will be." _

Brittany remembers that she didn't know what to say to Quinn. She had never expected the girl to lean on her for that answer, but over the past two months, Brittany had been her inside source. She had been her outlet to vent to and the person she asked advice for.

Brittany knew that people thought she was dumb, but she knew that she wasn't. And Santana and Quinn had never doubted that, they had always been there for her, and now it was her turn to be there for them.

"Britts?" Santana interrupted her thought. "Who called?" She asked again.

"OH! Oh, right!" Brittany thought back to her conversation on the phone. "It was Judy."

Santana's mouth hung open and Rachel stared, unable to blink.

"And?" Rachel asked with no patience.

Brittany shrugged, trying to play it cool. "She was telling me about the neighbor dog and how he's still keeping her up." The other two girls continued to stare at her.

"That's it?" Santana asked.

"Yeah." Brittany said, "Oh yeah! Quinn is going away for a while so Judy wanted me to let me know. She said Quinn wanted me to know that she isn't blowing off my calls, she just won't be around to talk. She also said Quinn told her to tell me that she loves me and to also tell me to tell you both that she loves you." Brittany finished the story with a nod and smile.

She had told it in a confusing, very Brittany way, but the other two girls received the message clearly.

"Right." Rachel said, standing, leaving her dish on the coffee table as she went.

Brittany noticed that was odd and also that Santana still hadn't spoken.

Brittany grabbed the other girls hands. "Are you alright?"

Santana looked at her girlfriend. "I should've forgiven her." She stated. "God, she could die at any time and-" They both turned to see Rachel storming towards the front door.

"Where are you going?" Brittany asked in confusion.

"To break up with Jamie!" Rachel yelled back, slipping her shoes on in a messy effort.

"Why?" Both Brittany and Santana said in unison.

Rachel appeared back in view, her shoes not even fully on. "Because I'm in love with Quinn!" She said and she stormed out of the apartment.

Santana looked confused and Brittany gave her a soft kiss. "I really didn't like Jamie anyways.

**Quick note! This was a bit of a filler. we're going to get back to Quinn on leave in the next chapter. instead of her whole story coming out and then flying home, it's going to be her talking to someon (maybe Rachel *wink wink*) about what happened when she was with the marines. hope you enjoyed!**

**P.S.- Sorry for any mistakes, i'm half asleep writing this. **

**P.P.S- I like reviews, that's why i update my stories.**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: I should be studying for finals. Damn. **

_There was sand in his eyes and in his mouth. The smell of gunpowder was strong in the air, and he heard continuous bursts of rifles firing. He wanted nothing more than to get up and help his brothers but his leg was screaming in protest. He could hear the mumbling of a feminine voice and felt a distinct pressure. His CO's face came into his blurry view after a few more seconds. _

_"We have to move him!" Came the reply from the feminine voice._

_"No! We're pinned down, whatever you have to do you better do it now!" His CO was screaming over the loud bursts of gunfire._

_He heard a familiar female voice and saw a blonde head of hair rush across his view. He heard a grunt and knew right away who was there to help him. Sargent Fabray. He liked her, she was damn good at her job and always saved him some of the meat from her MRE's. She was always telling him how much he reminded her of some guy named Puck. He didn't understand but a compliment from her was always accepted._

_She swam back into his view, for a moment he saw panic in her eyes but the next second she was looking at him with a smile and the warmest eyes he'd ever seen. "Hey, Williams." She said to him with a smile, he immediately felt relaxed, although he couldn't deny he was starting to feel cold, probably from lying on the sand for so long. _

_She disappeared from his view again and he tried to speak, noticing it was a little garbled. A soft but firm hand pushed him back to rest, he hadn't even noticed that he had been trying to sit up. "Easy, I have to put some pressure on your leg. It might hurt a little, okay?" He felt himself nod which earned a smile for him in return. _

_The pain of the pressure she applied nearly made him blackout. The spots in his vision were larger than they had been. He was starting to hear ringing in his ears, the gunshots were starting to sound further away._

_"-lost too much! I can't control the god damn bleeding! Give me your belt!" He heard Sargent Fabray scream in the direction of his CO, who then appeared in his peripheral vision, belt in hand. _

_He could barely feel Sargent Fabray as she looped the belt around his leg and tightened. He was feeling dizzy, so many things were running through his mind. One thing that stuck out was that he had no idea what Sargent Fabray's first name was._

_"What?" Sargent Fabray was back in his sight, closer now, he saw blood on her uniform. _

_Had he asked a question? Might as well now. "What's your name?"_

_Sargent Fabray laughed for a moment but something about it seemed off, like it was forced. He didn't focus much on it because she answered right away with "Quinn." _

_"God, that's a pretty name." He smiled, closing his eyes._

_He felt a few slaps to his face, intensifying as they came. He was in the back of a hummer now, he was confused because hadn't he just been on the ground._

_"Williams? God damn it Williams look at me!" Quinn screamed pulling his eyes awake._

_"Now listen, I need you to keep your eyes open. Don't keep closing them on me, alright?" He wasn't aware that he had been. He looked to his left and saw his best friend holding his hand. He grew confused again because his best friend had deployed a year before he could sign on, and in that year his hummer had hit an IED, killing everyone inside._

_Quinn swam back into his view. "Do you want to know my real name?" She asked in desperation._

_"It's Quinn." He smiles, enjoying the way it rolled off his tongue. "You're the prettiest girl I've ever met." He said._

_"No, no, no, my real first name." She was back in his personal space. He could only see her face and her eyes were more panicked than the first time. He could see how bloodshot they were, wondering if it was from the sand or something else._

_"It's Lucy." He heard the whisper against his ear, starring up he saw her semi-jogging alongside of his cot. He hadn't realized he was even in a cot, but he did notice the bright fluorescent lights above. He felt a soft kiss on his cheek and Lucy disappeared out of sight. He smiled lightly and closed his eyes. _

"No!" Quinn woke up from a start. She stood immediately and panicked when she didn't realize where she was. After a few more seconds she noticed that she was on a couch, in New York. Rachel's couch, in that same shared apartment. A light streamed underneath a door and it cracked open for a moment before a head peaked out.

"Quinn…" Came the whisper in an angelic voice.

"Ye-" She cleared her crackly throat. "Yeah?"

The door opened more and then close, leaving the only light streaming in through the windows of the living room. "Is everything okay? I thought I heard something."

Quinn sat for a second, letting her head fall into her hands. "Yeah" She answered, but decided against that. She looked up at Rachel who was wearing a robe that was unfastened revealing long legs and barely there boy shorts. "No." She said around the frog in her throat. "I…I was dreaming about someone." Quinn supplied vaguely.

She felt Rachel sit down next to her on the couch and lay a soft hand on her back. She was rubbing soothing circles into her back, trying to ease her anxiety. "Who?" Rachel asked.

Quinn sighed and turned more to face Rachel. "It was…a Marine." She swallowed thickly. "God, he reminded me so much of Puck." She felt Rachel stiffen a little. Probably hoping that Quinn hadn't somehow developed feelings for this guy.

Trying to relieve the tension, Quinn laughed and placed her hand on Rachel's leg. "Remember, I _am _gay."

Rachel softened and smiled, Quinn loved her smile. It was so bright that even with in the meager lighting, she could still feel it's rays and see the crisp whiteness. "I know that, it's just you and Puck do have quite the history."

"That's history. Literally." Quinn laughed but after a few moments she sobered. "He was young, driven, he was a good soldier." Quinn scratched her neck in a nervous manner. "We had been assigned to his team right away, it's when you and I weren't talking."

Rachel stiffened and felt her blood run cold. She had hated those 4 months when they hadn't spoken. She had wanted nothing more but knew deep down that neither of them were ready for it. Instead of speaking, she grasped Quinn's hand in hers receiving a smile from the blonde, even though Quinn was staring at the floor.

"He and I got along. He liked that I ran my team smoothly, and he liked that I could joke around with the grunts. Plus, I mean, look at me." She looked to Rachel and winked.

Rachel swatted at her and blushed. "So full of yourself!"

Quinn smiled again and looked straight ahead now. "David Williams." She said softly. "We had been in a hot zone, not much movement and then I saw someone running at me." Rachel felt Quinn squeeze her hand roughly. "It was a woman." Quinn turned to her and Rachel saw the glimmer of a tear running down her face. "I shot her."

_The gun immediately ejected the empty casing Quinn had just fired. The shockwave was approaching and anyone close enough was knocked to their feet. Quinn's party, along with several others, had managed to duck down and find cover. Quinn's bullet had hit the woman in the chest, which had hit the improvised explosive device that she had been wearing underneath._

_Quinn felt her body rock back and hit the ground. "Shit." She picked her head up and heard guns firing which made her stay low and crawl over to Captain Anderson. "What the hell is going on?" She screamed at the man who was talking to one of his grunts._

_"Shits hitting the fan Fabray!" He screamed back. His attention was then drawn to the building that was hit by an RPG. "RPG! MOVE!" He screamed, grabbing Quinn by her arm and dragging her as the building came down._

_They barely escaped, some chunks of concrete and dust hitting them as it came down. Anderson looked down at her and she nodded which he returned and raced off back towards his men._

_Quinn turned and kept her head down, sprinting towards where Daniels and Martinez had last been. She saw Martinez behind a cement roadblock, ducking and firing. Quinn slid the rest of the way, pulling Daniels down with her. _

_"Where's Martinez?!" She screamed into Daniels ear._

_Daniels pointed in a direction which Quinn followed, spotting Martinez crouching over a body. "She was over there talking to some grunt when you shot. What the hell is going on? Why are there so many?" She yelled._

_"Stay sharp!" Quinn yelled back, not having an answer._

_"Yes ma'am!" Daniels yelled, checking that she had a bullet in the chamber before popping back up and shooting at a man on top of a building who was holding the RPG that took the building down. She watched as his body dropped and searched for another target. They were not going to die here._

_"Martinez!" Quinn screamed, running past the soldier and knocking Martinez back. Martinez grunted and started filling Quinn in._

_"Right after you shot the bomb went off. We were lucky until that building came down! A piece of rebar came falling from the sky. It had cement with it too!"_

_Looking down, Quinn saw the mangled remains of what his leg used to be. "It crushed this?" Quinn yelled to Martinez. _

_"Yeah, we had to roll it off so we could move him, they were popping shots off and we weren't in cover!"_

_Quinn looked at the face of the soldier and knew who he was. "David." She whispered under her breath. Snapping out of it, Quinn scooted forward to look at the wounded man. _

_"Hey Williams." She smiled as brightly as he could, remembering to hide her panic so he would stay calm. He didn't seem very responsive so she ducked back down to apply direct pressure in hopes that the bleeding would stop. It didn't, and he tried to sit up, likely from the pain but she wasn't sure if he was even consciously doing it. "Easy, I have to put some pressure on your leg. It might hurt a little, okay?" She watched a pained, tightlipped smile rise to his face and he gave a slight nod. By now he was shaking, the shock was settling in faster than she could control it._

_She yelled at Captain Anderson. "He's bleeding everywhere, I think he severed an artery." She watched as the blood continued to spritz out with every beat of his heart. "He's lost too much! I can't control the god damn bleeding! Give me your belt!" Captain Anderson ripped his belt away as quick as he could manage. _

_Quinn snatched the belt from Captain Anderson's hands and looped it as high on his thigh as possible. The blood flow was effectively cut off, but looking at the ground and her uniform, told her that he had lost a lot of blood._

_"What's your name?" Quinn looked up at him, he wasn't looking at her he was staring off, his eye lids drooping._

_"What?" She asked him, trying to keep him awake while the shots around her continued to sound. She heard a hummer approaching. _

_"Get him out of here!" Anderson screamed over his shoulder at her. _

_"Quinn." She replied after looking back to him._

_"God that's a pretty name." He uttered out. She knew that if she didn't act now he would die. _

_Quinn could feel the adrenaline pumping through her veins, she crouched and began to sling him over her shoulder. Once he was over her shoulders she stood more and ran to the Hummer that had arrived and was parked, waiting for her. Two men rushed from back of the hummer, guns drawn. Another emerged after and she rushed forward, the other soldier helped her ease him into the back. _

_She scooted further into the back while the remaining two soldiers piled back in behind her. Williams was murmuring some words that she didn't quite catch, but halfway through the ride he stopped speaking so much and closed his eyes. She shook him gently and when he didn't respond she tapped his face lightly. After a few taps she began to slap him. "Williams? God damn it Williams look at me!" Quinn screamed; the last slap seemed to do the trick, leaving her hand tingling after._

_"Now listen, I need you to keep your eyes open. Don't keep closing them on me, alright?" Quinn spoke too him but he was holding his hand out to his side and staring at something that wasn't there. _

_He didn't reply, he just smiled slightly and closed his eyes. Quinn panicked at this sight and threw herself in-between the two men riding in back with them. _

_"Move this fucking vehicle or I'll put a bullet in your head!" She screamed in desperation at the driver. He must have been in a situation similar to this because he didn't flinch, instead he nodded and they sped on._

_The men that she was with had radioed in to the make shift hospital before they arrived. Quinn had tried desperately to wake Williams, but had no such luck. They transported him inside, her mind was everywhere at once and everything was happening in a blur. He was on a bed and headed towards surgery so she decided to try one last time._

_"Do you want to know my real name?" She asked him, jogging along side his bed as they went. His eyes fluttered open and her heart leapt at this good news. _

_"It's Quinn." He smiled up at her. "You're the prettiest girl I've ever met." He said._

_She felt the onset of tears once more and wondered to herself how long before now that she had been crying. "No, no, no, my real first name." he was staring at her intently before he looked up at the fluorescent lighting of the hospital._

_He didn't respond to her and they were getting closer to surgery. She leaned down into his ear, "It's Lucy." She said softly, they were almost to the point where she couldn't go any further into the room. She leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to his cheek and watched the door close after the team of nurses and doctors running next to his bed. She knew that was the last time she would ever see him alive. _

Rachel stared at her in disbelief, not knowing what to say. She could tell by Quinn's demeanor that things had changed in her personality.

"Quinn…" Rachel only managed to say.

"It's fine, Rachel." Quinn looked at Rachel with a sad smile. "I just, I don't know. I want you to know what's happened." She reached across the couch to hold Rachel's hand. "I hope this can help you understand the way that I acted before, when I first came back."

Rachel turned slightly to look out the window, enjoying the lights from the city that never sleeps. She heard mumbling coming from down the hall. She wanted to tell Quinn before anyone interrupted them. "Quinn?" She looked back to Quinn and noticed that the girl was still staring at her. The blonde cocked her eyebrow in response and Rachel was thankful that the darkness covered her blush. "I told you about Jamie." She felt Quinn's hand stiffen. Rachel rubbed her finger along the backside of Quinn's palm. "The reason that I broke up with her was-" Before she could finish, Santana came down the hall, dragging her feet and flipping on the living room light.

"Oh." The taller brunette said, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "Didn't know you guys were up." She trudged towards the kitchen, flipping that light on as well. The two could hear water running and the clanging of plates being moved.

Quinn turned to Rachel and smiled again, she could feel how stiff Quinn had become once Santana entered the room.

Rachel leaned closer. "You two still haven't talked about things?" Rachel left out what the "things" were that they needed to talk about. She also wondered why Quinn didn't just tell Santana that what she had done and seen had played a role in the way she had reacted to Santana's Aunt's death.

Quinn shook her head, "It doesn't really matter at this point. Things have changed." Quinn looked in the direction of the kitchen before turning back to Rachel. "Some things you can't take back. I wasn't in a good place. That was... I didn't know how to cope with everything that happened."

"But you do know?" Rachel asked immediately. A soft frown came across Quinn's face.

"I'm not sure." She looked into Rachel's eyes. "I am trying though."

Rachel smiled and leaned forward, pulling Quinn into a strong embrace. "I-" Santana popped her head around the corner.

"Coffee?" She asked, including Quinn in the most general way.

Rachel didn't nudge when Quinn went to pull away. She just continued hugging her and nodded to Santana. "Yes, please."

"Where are we going?" Quinn asked as Rachel for the third time as the brunette drug her through the city.

Rachel kept her fast pace, still holding Quinn's hand as the blonde intentionally slowed behind her. "You don't honestly believe that I'm going to tell you do you?" She asked.

"It's worth a shot." Quinn quickened her pace so that it matched Rachel's. "You look beautiful, by the way." The soldier said, trying to play it off casually.

Rachel flushed next to her, their hands still interlocked. "Thank you." She smiled down at herself. She was wearing a short summer dress, a light red color with small black lines sprinkled about it.

Quinn felt majorly underdressed, she was wearing a white V-neck tucked loosely into boyfriend jeans with a tan cloth belt. "Please tell me it's not somewhere fancy." She moaned as they crossed the street towards a park.

Rachel let out a laugh and Quinn admired the way she looked, her lips parted with a full smile and the gentle breeze throwing her hair back. "It's not fancy." She supplied as she led Quinn into the park.

"The park?" Quinn spoke around a gentle laugh. "Why this one? We could go any…where." She finished as she spotted a blonde by the pond.

Rachel noticed this and smiled brightly, she was hoping for this reaction. "Brittany comes here every day, even if she has to work she will leave early so she can catch them before she has to clock in."

Rachel goes to lead them both to Brittany but Quinn tugs her back. Rachel looks at her with confusion, noting how the blonde had the softest face she had seen in a while.

"Can we…cane we just stay here?" Quinn asks, looking back and forth between her and Brittany.

Rachel links her arm with Quinn's and drags them forward a few feet before sitting down on the soft grass. "Of course!" She smiles at her. "We can do whatever you want to."

Quinn smiles at this and notices that Rachel is staring at her lips. "Thank you." She murmurs.

Rachel's eyes have darkened immensely and instead of answering she begins to lean in. Quinn's eyes are darting from Rachel's eyes and back to her lips and before she even realizes it, her eyes close and her lips connect with Rachel's.

The kiss is mesmerizing and Quinn almost forgets to breathe. Rachel smells like strawberries and tastes like mint tea. Rachel pulls back slightly; Quinn isn't ready for this to end. Instead, she reaches behind Rachel and strings her hands through the other woman's chestnut hair. Rachel smiles into the kiss and laughs gently.

When they break apart, Rachel rests her forehead against Quinn's, breathing heavily. "I missed you, Quinn."

Quinn feels a tear slip from her eye. She pulls back, watching Rachel's eyes pull together in confusion. Quinn tucks a strand of Rachel's hair behind her right ear, cradling her face as she does. "I've never stopped thinking about you." Quinn whispers for only Rachel to hear.

Rachel kisses her hand and raises hers to capture it. Instead of speaking, the brunette leans in once more, making up for lost time.

They eventually get up and talk to Brittany. The dancer bounces in joy.

"I didn't know that you two were coming! I was really lonely; the ducks don't seem too hungry today."

Quinn notices the bread crumbs in Brittany's hand. "Maybe they will be tomorrow?" She says, hoping to brighten her friend's mood.

Brittany perks up immediately and Quinn smiles, happy that the question had worked. "Will you come with me?" Brittany asks. She looks to Rachel and Quinn, noticing how they turned towards each other. "Rachel has to work, we can go before she's done and then we can all walk home together!" Brittany screamed in excitement and Quinn laughed deeply at her enthusiasm.

"Sounds like a plan, Britt." She laced her hand through Rachel's. "Are you sure you want me around you so much?"

Rachel brought her hand to her chin in thought, and after a few seconds Quinn tickled her. "Oh! Stop! Quinn Stop!" Rachel yelped in laughter. "Yes, of course I want you around." She smiled sweetly at Quinn.

"And Santana will be happy that I'm there after her shift! She hates the long shift!" Brittany cheered, leading the way back to the shared apartment.

Quinn stiffened slightly next to Rachel. "I'm sorry Quinn! I forgot that she switched. If you don't want to go it's okay." Rachel offered.

Quinn relaxed as Rachel spoke, the singer had been tracing her finger along her arm in a soothing manner. "It's fine." Quinn smiled at Rachel. "It's good for all of you to spend time together, I don't want to mess that up."

"You never mess anything up, Quinn." Rachel turned to her as they waited for the crosswalk to tell them when to cross. She leaned up and gave Quinn a gentle kiss on her cheek.

The hand lit up and Rachel jumped in excitement, "We must cross now!" She drug a love struck Quinn along.

Quinn watched as Rachel exited the diner, Santana was trailing behind looking thoroughly pissed off. Quinn smiled quietly to herself. Some things about Santana were still so familiar.

Brittany skipped forward and Santana scooped her into her arms, the bad mood she had been in was instantly swept away. "Hey, baby." She spoke lovingly to Brittany. The two kissed for a moment.

Rachel walked over to Quinn, her waitress outfit much more sexualized than Quinn remembered. "Hi there." Quinn said provocatively, Rachel swatted at her arm and blushed. "How was work?" Quinn asked, taking Rachel's hand.

Rachel turned to her with a large smile, "Very long!" She whined, "It's much better now though!" She brightened up and swung their joined hands.

Quinn hummed in content and watched Brittany run past them, Santana chasing her. They laughed and played like that for a few more blocks.

They were almost back to the apartment, Quinn could tell by the scenery and by the decrease in people. She noticed a box that was also surround by a bag, a red flag immediately went up. She tugged Rachel to a stop, slightly stepping in front of her. Brittany raced past them just as Santana ran into the back of them.

"God, move your asses!" Santana grumbled.

Quinn could barely hear her around the blood pounding in her ears, she heard Rachel call her name and felt herself breathing heavily, gaining on Brittany. She wasn't in New York City anymore, she was back in Iraq. She could feel the sand against her face and the heat from the sun, the buildings changed around her, all of them transforming into the bullet ridden and bombed debris. They were getting closer to the box and Brittany stopped, turning and smiling. Her smile started to fade when she saw Quinn running at her.

Quinn grabbed Brittany by her waist, picking her up and running towards the parked car on the street. She could barely hear the blonde's protests, or Santana yelling and undoubtedly struggling against Rachel as she held the Latina back.

Once they were behind the car Quinn braced herself, waiting for the inevitable. She caught Brittany staring at her in concern out of the corner of her eye. The blonde began to peek up and Quinn grabbed her, turning her towards her. "Keep your head down!" She yelled at her. Brittany continued to frown.

Quinn peaked over the car and saw Santana running at her. "What the fuck is wrong with you?!" She screamed in Quinn's face. She pushed her against the car and kept screaming. Quinn looked over and saw Rachel approaching, she was walking closer to the bag.

"Rachel, no!" Quinn screamed, slamming Santana away from her as she ran at the man that was going to walk past Rachel.

She sprinted and dove through the air, tackling the man to the ground. She pinned him down. "Don't fucking move!" She screamed at him.

"Martinez!" She called over her shoulder. Turning to her three friends. Rachel stared at her in shock, her hands covering her mouth. Santana was holding Brittany, her stance was protective while Brittany looked like she was going to cry.

Quinn breathed deeply, swallowing the thickness in her throat. The sand that was blowing harshly against her body ceased to exist and the temperature turned back to the normal heat of NYC. She felt something squirming and cursing underneath her as the buildings transformed back to their original states.

Quinn was bewildered, standing and backing up to the wall behind her. "I…" She couldn't find the words to explain.

"You fucking bitch!" A man in a business suit came into her view. "Do you know how much this suit costs?!" He spat at her. "More than your life is worth!" She didn't respond and watched as the vein in his head popped out. "Are you fucking deaf?!" He grabbed her by her shirt.

There was a crunch and he stumbled, Quinn watched him bend over, clutching his nose. Looking to her left she saw Santana who was now shaking her hand out. "Damn, you have a thick ass nose." She turned to Quinn, grabbing her by the arm. "Let's go!" She screamed at Rachel who started running with Brittany next to her, keeping pace easily.

When they reached the apartment Santana disappeared into the kitchen after dropping Quinn off at the couch. Quinn was still quiet and confused, her face was pulled into a deep frown. Santana came back with a glass of water and ice on her knuckles. Rachel and Brittany sat across from Quinn.

Santana was pacing, she was murmuring in Spanish to herself as she went. Finally she spoke, "What the hell was that?!" She turned to Quinn, she was pissed, Quinn could see it in her eyes. "I mean- I- Jesus Quinn!" She shouted, throwing the ice onto the table.

Quinn jumped at the loud noise, all three sets of eyes landed on her. "Sorry." Santana spoke gently. She took a seat next to the blonde soldier. "What the hell happened?" She asked softly. Quinn shook her head. "Hey," Santana spoke as soft as she ever had, "it's okay."

Quinn bowed her head, "I'm sorry."

"Oh, Quinn." Rachel stood and kneeled, taking Quinn's face in her hands. She searched her eyes and saw pain. "What happened?"

"I was back there." She answered. "I thought that that box and bag were…" She trailed off, looking to Brittany now. "You were running towards it. I didn't want anything to happen to you."

Santana felt sick, she readjusted herself nervously, afraid she was going to cry at what she just heard. Rachel felt the tear go down her face. She knew what that meant. Quinn would have died for Brittany. She would have died for her… "Quinn?" Rachel said gently. Quinn met her eyes, she could feel the other girl slightly shaking. "We'll get through this." She brought the girl into her, hugging her as tight as she could. "Together." She looked at Brittany who nodded, still frowning and then at Santana.

Santana looked afraid and concerned. Rachel watched as Santana placed a hand on Quinn's shoulder. "We should talk." She spoke slowly. Quinn turned to her a rose an eyebrow. "Don't give me that classic shit, Fabray." Santana nudged her softly. She stood and walked into the kitchen, all eyes following her as she disappeared. A moment later her head popped out, "Coming?" She spoke to Quinn.

Quinn looked at both of them and smiled before she stood and joined Santana. Rachel worried her hands together. She wanted them to talk, she was just worried now may not be the best time.

**A/N: Reviews make me happy and more productive!**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: FFFFFFFFFIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNNNAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLSSSSSSSS. And I am still putting them off, bio and physics are killing me. All mistakes are mine. Hopefully there aren't many but I didn't proofread. That is all.**

"**How long is forever? Sometimes, just one second."**

**-Alice in Wonderland**

**RQRQRQRQRQRQRQRQRQRQRQRQRQRQRQRQRQRQRQRQQRQRQRQRQRQRQRQRQRQRQRQRQ**

"How are you feeling?" Daniels voice came in through the helmet Quinn was wearing. They didn't get a lot of time anymore to go into the bomb suit. They were usually attached to a unit but it was starting to change. Quinn's unit was starting to go out more on their own, the frequency of firefights was increasing and more families were receiving bad news each day. Quinn hatted thinking about her brothers and sisters who would never return home alive, it was the main reason that her squad was being sent out alone so much. They needed to address the IED issues and make their presence known.

"Hot." Quinn replied, panting. "I know it's for our protection but I don't think it will do me any good this close." Quinn spoke, kneeling in front of the suspected device.

She heard a crackle and a fuzzy response. "Gotta save that pretty face." Martinez spoke.

"That's true." Quinn said offhandedly, her main focus was the object in front of her. She felt the beads of sweat itching as they trickled down her face. "Looks bad guys. There's four different wires on this piece." Quinn ran her exposed fingers along every wire, pausing when she noticed one wire was longer than the others. "Hold up." Quinn spoke, grunting as she stood, the weight of the EOD suit was heavier in this heat.

"What's going on?" Daniels firmly asked, Quinn could hear crunching no doubt Daniels was moving up.

Quinn looked to her left and saw Martinez up a road, she looked to have her in sights. "Just keep an eye on my surroundings." She said.

She could barely make the other soldier out, but Martinez appeared to be using her scope and looking around. "Roger that." Martinez said in return. Quinn admired that she was starting to take things more seriously. They all were.

Quinn kept the line of wire in her hands as she walked, careful not to pull on it, she just wanted to follow it. When it came to a corner she took a deep breath. If she followed it any further then she would be out of everyone's sight. "Shit." She said lowly, she had to make the decision before she waited too long because if this lead to a detonating station she only had so long before they caught on.

"What's wrong, Quinn?" Daniels came over the headset again.

Quinn sighed, "Nothing. It's…it's nothing." Quinn stepped back and looked towards Martinez. "Martinez, do a sweep back to Beast, I'll be there shortly." Quinn instructed, smiling slightly at the nickname Martinez had given the Hummer.

Quinn watched her lower the weapon, "Roger that." The soldier marched off behind some buildings along her path.

"Daniels, I need you to watch the Beast, make sure no on tries to wire anything to it." Quinn waited for a response for a few moments. "Daniels, do you copy?"

A crackle came ten seconds later, every second Quinn felt her heart pound harder. "Affirmative. If you're sure."

Quinn rolled her eyes. "That's an order." The blonde couldn't help her irritation seeping through, Daniels was too worried sometimes and it would get one of them hurt if Quinn didn't try to rid her of that habit.

Quinn began to track the wire, slightly pulling as she went so that she could expose it from the ground, but not too hard as to sever it. She was slightly uncoordinated as she walked, the weight of the bomb suit causing this once more. The buildings were also too narrow for her liking, some people were standing outside of their homes, looking at her. She hated the feeling of being watched. "Fuck it." She said, taking the helmet off as she same up next to an opening of a door. She tossed it aside and froze. There was a man who was in the doorway, the wire was attached to a post outside of his home. On the end of it, a D battery port was attached. Glancing down, she saw what was in his hand.

"Drop it." She stated firmly. The man began to walk, looking angry but confused at the same time. At this point Quinn was eighty percent sure it was a battery in his hand.

"Quinn, what's happening?" Daniels spoke frantically into the walkie.

"I'm going to cut around, hold tight." Quinn heard Martinez speak calmly.

"Stay on track, Martinez! I'm closer, just get to the Beast, I'll get to Fabray." Daniels spoke as she ran, Quinn could tell by the sound of the sand and rocks against her boots and the shortness of breath.

Quinn watched as he continued to approach, she could finally see his face. It wasn't outright anger, in fact it was hard to read, almost impossible. She didn't want to do anything if she didn't have to and she sure as hell didn't want to hurt an innocent person.

"Stop!" She screamed at him. "Stop moving! Show me your hands!" She screamed authoritatively at him.

He continued to approach, and she saw a slight glimmer. A shine from the battery coating. Quinn reached to her chest, a pistol holstered to the front of the EOD suit. She drew on him quickly, her heart was pounding in her ears. "DON'T! DROP IT NOW!" She screamed at him desperately now, she didn't want any more blood on her hands. He quickened his movement, bringing his hand up and almost connecting the battery." Three shots erupted and the man's head released a red mist.

Quinn turned shakily, holding her unfired weapon in her hands. She aimed at the body standing twenty feet from her and then lowered the weapon. "I told you that I'd always have your back." Daniels said to her, beginning to walk towards her.

Quinn could hardly control her breathing, she walked towards Daniels, pistol still in hand. "Thank you." Quinn smiled somberly at the other woman.

Daniels let her gun drop slightly , catching on the three-point sling it was hooked to. "It's not a problem." She replied cheekily, hoping to apply humor to a haunting situation. "I guess Martinez is right, I apparently do have a soft spot Sarge-" Quinn heard a whistling noise and watched Daniels stumble backwards, gripping high on the left side of her chest. Daniels mouth hung open in surprise and confusion, her brows were knitted together as she looked down at her hand that was pushing against her chest. Quinn watched blood seep into her uniform, draining down slowly.

"DANIELS!" Quinn cried out, running towards her friend as she looked at her hand and then dropped to her knees, rocking back and hitting the ground. More whistling noises came through the air as Quinn slammed down next to Daniels,

"Goddamn it!" She spoke harshly as she put both of her hands against Daniels chest.

Daniels look at her through hooded eyes. "This isn't good." She said in return. "I'm sorry." The other soldier apologized as tears slipped from her eyes.

"No. Don't apologize." Quinn looked around she saw a gleam and ducked, covering Daniels body with hers. A thud hit her body and she felt like all of the air had been knocked out of her.

"We're going to be okay." Quinn spoke through her tears. "You're going to be alright."

Daniels laughed underneath her, coughing as she went. Blood dripped from her mouth. "Martinez was right." She laughed and looked at Quinn. "I've had a wild fucking crush on you since the day I met you."

Quinn laughed through her tears. "You stay with me and I'll take you out anywhere you want to go." Quinn said, hoping to keep her friend replying.

"Yeah?" She asked Quinn. "If your salary is anything like mine," Quinn felt her wheezing for air. "then we'll be ordering from the dollar menu." More blood dripped from her mouth and Quinn cried harder.

"I'll treat you." Quinn said, pushing as hard as she could against the bullet hole. "You can order two whole items from the dollar menu."

Martinez laughed, the sound was heart breaking, not enough air was getting into her lungs. Just blood. "Wow, Quinn. Are you sure?"

Quinn sobbed harder, the tears were making her vision blur. "I'm positive."

"Big spender." Sasha Daniels replied, eyes drooping shut.

"What the fuck?!" Martinez rounded a building, sprinting towards them and firing in the direction Quinn had noticed the gleam coming from. The sun was giving away the sniper's position by the reflection from his scope.

"Grab her!" Quinn yelled, feeling adrenaline rush through her body, not feeling the weight of her suit.

"Quinn-" Martinez tried to interrupt her.

"Get her to the vehicle now, Martinez!" Quinn screamed, red in the face.

Martinez slung Daniels over her shoulder after she removed her rifle and dropped it to the ground. Quinn ripped angrily at her suit, shrugging it off in anger and ripping it away. She had ducked into the building the man had come from, knocking his body out of the way in anger. "This is Sargent Quinn Fabray, my team is under fire, one friendly wounded. I am pinned down by a sniper. Requesting backup." She spoke calmly into the walkie.

A crackle came followed by a male voice. "Copy the Sargent Fabray, a team is a few clicks south. Stand by for support."

Quinn clicked the radio back to her team channel. "Get her the hell out of here, Martinez!" She screamed.

"Roger that, ma'am." Martinez confirmed.

Quinn dug through the suit and ripped the pistol out, tucking it into the back of her pants. She looked around and remembered Martinez had dropped Daniels rifle. "In and out. In and out." She repeated to herself in a mantra, pushing off and sprinting to the gun. She racked the slide of the gun back, checking for a bullet. Once confirmed she repeated her mantra and sprinted across the narrow street to another building. The ground leapt up around her and she knew that bullets almost hit her feet.

"Shit." She said under her breath. The bullets had been automatic and she could hear a group of men shouting. "Okay. Okay, okay, okay." She whispered as she scanned the house with her eyes. It was run down, a cigarette was still burning in the ash tray and the torn furniture was covered in dust. The tv was still on though so she knew people had been here. Or… they were still there.

She looked towards the kitchen as something caught her eye. It looked like a body had been running upstairs. "Fuck." She said under her breath as she made the decision to follow the person.

Quinn heard men much closer and a shot was fired. She ducked, tripping on the night stand. Several shots tore through the building and Quinn covered her head, laying as flat against the floor as she could. Dust filled the room, landing all over her. "Ugh, shit." She grunted, picking herself up and running towards the stairs.

More shots went through the building and Quinn slammed her body into the second landing, pulling her gun against her shoulder and listening. Someone was running through the house. A man had a rifle in his hands and was pointing it at her as he rounded the landing.

She was propped against the stairs as she fired the gun, the bearded man fell, blood pouring out of his white shirt. Quinn bit her lip and looked towards the top flight. She picked herself up and began to take the steps two at a time. When she reached the top a hand covered her mouth and drug her to the side. Before she could cry out a body came launching up the stairs and Quinn pulled up again and shot the man twice in the back. He scrunched his shoulder blades together as he crumpled to the floor, he wailed in pain.

Quinn turned to the person behind her a pointed the muzzle of her gun at them. "Easy!" Martinez said, with her hands up in surrender.

"What the fuck are you doing here?!" Quinn grabbed her by the collar, their faces inches apart. "Why aren't you with Daniels?"

Martinez brushed her off. "She's on the way to the hospital, easy Fabray." Daniels turned and looked towards the stairs. "There are more coming." She said.

Quinn turned towards the stairs and looked, hearing the footsteps approaching before a man yelling made them stop and then retreat.

"How did you know-" Quinn turned and Martinez was gone. "Martinez?!" She whispered, calling out harshly. She wandered towards a bed room and once her feet hit it the ground she had just left exploded, holes filled it while splinters shot everywhere.

Quinn ducked fully into the bedroom and pressed her body firmly against the wall. The gunfire ceased and she scanned the room further. "MARTINEZ!" She whispered again. No reply came. She saw a flicker of movement in the closet and raised her weapon. She could hear the men talking downstairs and knew she had very little time.

She brought her hand forward, making sure that her gun was still drawn. She slid the closet door open and saw a man crouching protectively in front of what appeared to be his wife and son. He began to whisper quickly, pleadingly, to Quinn in a foreign language.

Quinn frowned and shook her head. "I don't understand." She spoke back. The floor around her shook as bullets tore through the bedroom next to the one she was in. She panicked and looked back at the man with his family. "You have to leave." She tried to speak over him but he was still speaking quickly and in a panic. The blonde soldier didn't know what to say to him. "I need to find my friend. Have you seen her?" She tried again, hoping he could somewhat understand her. He continued to speak when bullets sprayed on the other side of the floor. Reacting instinctively, Quinn stood and fired into the floor, emptying her clip as she did. She dropped the gun, feeling it's weight catch on the sling and retrieved the pistol from the back of her pants. No gunfire came in return so she faced the man again.

"Don't move." She said walking towards the door, gun raised. When she heard him behind her she turned and pointed the gun at him, hoping that he understood. Quinn wasn't going to shoot him but she needed him to stay. He stopped and raised his hands. She pointed the gun at him and then towards the closet, he jumped in front of the muzzle in protection towards his family she nodded towards it and he backed up, returning to crouching in front of his family. Feeling content with that, Quinn turned and walked out of the bedroom. She crept past the man she had shot, seeing his body now filled with holes, and down the stairs as slow as she could.

Once she made it to the bottom flight, she cautiously walked into the living area, her foot slid slightly and she looked around at the couch. There were four men dead, spread out variously. She lowered her weapon momentarily, examining the bodies. Quinn turned just as a body slammed into hers, both fell over the couch and landed hard against the floor.

A set of boots could be heard walking in the kitchen and Quinn turned to see Martinez looking at her in fright. "He just came in through another door. Get ready." Before Quinn could ask her where she had gone to, the man walked into the room.

His eyes widened and he grabbed his gun to aim but Quinn was faster. She pointed the pistol at him and fired once, twice, three times and his body smeared against the wall as he slid down it he pulled the trigger to his AK-47, bullet flew and Quinn couldn't duck fast enough as a bullet tore through her arm.

"GOD!" She screamed in agony as she stumbled and leaned against the wall. Her arm was on fire and her uniform was soaking with blood.

Martinez ran up and tore a piece of cloth from a shirt one of the dead men were wearing. "Here." She said as she pulled tightly against the makeshift tourniquet. "It's not going to last long, you need to get going." Martinez rushed out of the room and began to sprint off between two building.

Quinn was shocked, not sure what the hell was going on with the other woman's behavior. "HEY!" She screamed after her, limping but still managing to jog. Quinn was almost to the buildings when shot sang out, and her leg buckled underneath her.

Quinn spun and looked up towards the bedroom she had come from. A glimmer was coming from the window and she saw the man. The man she had spared, the one that had been so protective of his family. She hadn't been looking close enough. She hadn't seen the fear in the woman's eyes or the young child's. he wasn't protecting them. She should have gone into the other room and then she would have seen the dead body of the husband and father. He was her sniper. He had shot Daniels. He had abandoned his post he had been shooting at them from and he had tried to get closer. Tried to get closer to kill them. To kill her. To kill her team...

"FUCKER!" She screamed, backpedaling and firing. The shots made him duck but he was quick and fired once more. Quinn felt the slight catch in her side, the adrenaline making her head spin.

Martinez was standing ten feet from her. "You have to get up." She told her.

Quinn panted, tears coming to her eyes. "I… I can't." She rocked her head back and let it rest against the building. "Why do you keep leaving me?" She spoke without looking at Martinez.

"Sargent, you have to get up." Martinez repeated.

Quinn looked up at the sky, her cracked lips were bleeding and she could feel the sand stinging her eyes. It had been something she had gotten used to. "In and out." Quinn remained staring at the sky. A small drop of water hit her forehead and she was shocked.

"Martinez I think-" She stopped when she looked back in front of her and noticed that she was gone. Quinn glanced once more at the sky. "In and out." She whispered before she tried to stand.

Her leg immediately gave out and she sighed. "Come on." She said in frustration at her leg. "Don't quit." She began to crouch and use her hands as her second leg, the pistol was still in her hand and it clacked every time it hit the ground. Quinn wasn't following the direction the Martinez had probably gone off into, she was instead going back to the house.

"What are you doing?!" Martinez was next to her as she crawled desperately.

"I can't let them die." Quinn said, not bothering to turn and look at Martinez. She needed to stay focus.

"Quinn that's crazy! It's too late, you need to go!" She screamed at her.

Quinn shook her head. "I can't." She felt light headed but pressed on. "He'll kill them if I don't."

"He'll kill you, Quinn." Martinez stepped in front of her, blocking her path and looking into her eyes.

Quinn stared deeply into hers. "He can try." She said with determination. Quinn shoved past Martinez and continued on and when her vision swam into focus, he was standing across the street, rifle pointed at her.

She breathed deeply and swallowed the small amount of moisture in her mouth. Instead of stopping though she pushed on. Her nostrils were flaring and her side was burning along with her arm. "I wont," Quinn's hands dug into the harsh rock beneath them, "let you," She felt the dampness of her blood sliding on them, "hurt anyone else." She was halfway across and he was smiling at her.

"Foolish." He spoke clearly to her. He laughed at her as she continued dragging her body, she wouldn't die a quitter and somewhere in the back of her mind, she could feel how proud Sue Sylvester would be of this.

"Go fuck yourself." She spat at him as blood sprayed against her uniform.

Quinn let out a gasp and stared into his cold eyes. He had a blank look of surprise on his face as he fell.

"Sargent Fabray!" Came the familiar voice of Captain Anderson. He lowered his gun as his team pressed forward with him, he went to Quinn right away as part of the team went into the building.

Quinn felt arms on her before someone spoke up and she felt hands on her pain instantly.

Captain Anderson smiled at her, "I'm going to pick you up." He told her and she felt herself nod. The marine slung her over his shoulders and she watched the ground move quickly. He was running.

Once she was in the back of the truck she was able to speak. "Captain, we can't leave until Martinez comes. We have to find her."

He looked at her slightly confused. "What do you mean?"

Quinn forced her head up as a medic was applying pressure to her side and speaking to several people who were wrapping her leg for some reason. "She was here, she came back. She wouldn't stay put. Crazy bitch." Quinn added the last part in as an after thought to herself.

A marine came up and spoke to the Captain, Quinn was feeling hazy. Ehen she looked up again he cleared his throat. "The Lieutenant just informed me that she's riding with them." Captain Anderson spoke up.

"Like hell I am!" Martinez jumped into the back as another soldier exited, barely squeezing in as he shut the door. The Hummer started driving quickly then.

Quinn looked up at Martinez. "Why did you keep leaving me?"

Martinez laughed at this. "You're going to be alright, Fabgay."

Quinn chuckled. "That wasn't my question." She retorted.

Martinez sighed. "I'm always with you, Quinn." Is all Quinn heard before her world went dark. The faint feeling of Martinez holding her hand made her feel safe.

**RQRQRQRQRQRQRQRQRQRQRQRQRQRQRQRQRQRQRQRQQRQRQRQRQRQRQRQRQRQRQRQRQ**

"You know that not letting your friends talk to you is probably not the best idea, right?" Daniels interrupted her thoughts as the nurse wheeled her into Quinn's room. "Thank you." Daniels said to the nurse, Nurse Danny, Quinn liked him because of how kind he was. It was almost foreign to her now.

Quinn glanced at her before looking back at the tv screen. "Yeah and have them see me like this?" She motioned to her body with one hand.

Daniels wheeled further into the room. "I know it's rough Quinn. But we have to get through this."

Quinn looked at Sasha Daniels and gave her a small smile. "It's easier said than done." She turned back to the tv.

"Quinn?" Daniels tried again. Quinn hummed at her. "Will you push me around?" This seemed to do the trick because Quinn's head snapped to her.

"I thought you only let nurse Danny do it?" Quinn asked her suspiciously.

Sasha shrugged. "If you don't want to I understand." She replied, slowly wheeling herself away.

"Daniels, wait!" Quinn stumbled, falling out of her bed, thankful that she was no longer in the hospital gown or else her bare white rump would have been shining everyone around her. Instead she had the classic Army shorts on. But, either way, she had still fallen flat.

"Quinn?" Sasha turned around in her wheelchair, she almost stood but Quinn sat up and held her hand up.

"I'm fine. Don't strain yourself, if you want to heal right then you need to listen to your doctors." Quinn used the edge of her bed and the basic chair next to it to prop herself back up. "It's just hard to get used to."

"Yeah, well when you don't walk for a long time that tends to happen." Daniels supplied.

"Do you want me to roll you safely or perhaps you would like to become comfortable with the idea of flying?" Quinn said to her as she leaned against the wheelchair and pushed, feeling the uncomfortable pressure on her leg.

"Right, you would never do that. You love me!" Daniels laughed and tilted her head back to smile at Quinn.

"I don't know." Quinn mused, making a loop around the nurses' station where many smiled and nodded at the two. "I've been scoping out the roof, we could do a practice run up there." She turned sharply towards the elevator. "What do you say?"

Daniels put the hand brakes on and squealed. "No! You wouldn't!"

Quinn bent down to whisper against her ear. "If you don't ask Danny out I just might." She said with a snicker.

Gasping, Daniels took control of the wheelchair and spun around to face her. "As if he'd ever want to be with me!" She said, a blush appearing over her dark skin.

"Right," Quinn said, turning and walking slowly back to her room, Daniels kept pace. "The guy fawns over you. There's patient care and then there's that level of care." They slowed down as they came to Quinn's room. "Ask him." She said, folding her arms and raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, maybe." Daniels echoed.

They both stared off, each with the same thing in mind but no way of knowing how to bring it up.

"So…are you going?" Daniels asked Quinn at last.

Quinn's jaw flexed in an anxious manner. "I don't know." She answered right away before correcting herself. "Yeah. Yeah, I am." Quinn turned to look at her friend. "Are you?"

Daniels smiled up at her. "I'm not…" She looked down, nervously wringing her hands. "I've talked about it but…I'm not ready. You know?" She looked to Quinn for confirmation. Quinn figured that as long as they would know each other, which would be until they died, that would be a habit that she wouldn't be able to break. Daniels always looking to her like she was still her leader. It wasn't a habit that would get anyone killed, and if Quinn was being honest, she enjoyed that Daniels cared enough about her opinion and trusted her guidance.

"I understand." Quinn put her hand gently on Sasha's shoulder.

Quinn turned to go back into her room to lay back down when Sasha stopped her. "When will we see each other again?" She asked nervously.

Quinn turned, raising an eyebrow at her and shaking her head. "Tonight for dinner….? And again for breakfast and PT and then for-"

"No, Quinn." Sasha interrupted. "I meant, when will we see each other after this place?" Sasha motioned to the hospital.

Quinn clenched her jaw again. "I'm not sure." Daniels looked hurt. "We'll make it work." Quinn walked forward and bent down to hug her friend.

"Quinn…that must hurt." Daniels said in her ear.

"You're more than worth it." She whispered back.

**RQRQRQRQRQRQRQRQRQRQRQRQRQRQRQRQRQRQRQRQQRQRQRQRQRQRQRQRQRQRQRQRQ**

"This is the life, huh?" Martinez was sitting on the sand while Quinn sat in the foldable, and very crappy, beach chair that she had paid five dollars for. She had to lug it out, across the sand, and have it tear in several places. It was uncomfortable as hell but she could care less right now. The view of the beach and the sun setting across the ocean was breathtaking.

"Are you happy?" Quinn asked gently.

"Hell yes! I get to do what I've always wanted!" Martinez replied. "Sitting on the beach and enjoying a cold one with great company!" Martinez smiled out at the sunset while Quinn smiled at her, tears were silently falling down her face as she stared at Martinez.

"To you." Quinn said, holding her bottle of beer in the air as a toast. Martinez turned to her and smiled, she didn't raise a bottle, she didn't have one. "I have to let you go." Quinn whispered sadly.

Martinez kept smiling and nodded. "I know." She replied happily.

"Excuse me." An older woman stepped in front of Quinn. "Are you Quinn Fabray?" She asked gently.

Quinn stood stiffly. "Yes, ma'am." She answered respectfully.

The woman in front of her covered her mouth and sobbed. "Oh, I'm so sorry!" She tried to control her crying.

"There's no need to apologize ma'am." Quinn placed a gentle hand on her arm. "Do you need a moment?"

The woman sniffed for a few moments and pulled tissues out of her pocket, she smiled at Quinn and held them up. "I came prepared." She laughed, dabbing at her eyes. Quinn nodded in return. The woman suddenly slapped her chest, "Where are my manners?" She smiled at Quinn, tears still present. "I'm Barbara Martinez, but you can call me Barb." She held out her hand before retracting it. "May I hug you, sweetheart?" She asked with sadness in her voice.

Quinn stepped forward and hugged the older woman tightly as an answer. Barbara nussled in and sniffed Quinn. After a few moments they broke apart and Quinn watched her dab at her eyes. "I'm sorry, dear. It's just…oh God I don't even know!" She laughed with strain in her voice. "I just miss her so much."

Quinn tightened her jaw and looked away as she felt the tears. "I do too, Mrs. Martinez." She replied.

Barbara stepped forward and collected Quinn's face inbetween her hands. "Don't you close up on people." She spoke firmly. "It's hard enough to go through this…this mess. You need everyone you can to help you." She was a gentle woman with the kindest blue eyes she had ever seen. "My Jess spoke so often about you. She truly did love you Quinn." Mrs. Martinez continued. "Everyone has a soul mate, I'm relieved to know that she found her soulmate." She spoke.

"Ma'am we weren't-" Quinn tried.

"There are many kinds of soulmates, dear. You can find them in friends." She smiled at Quinn, releasing her face from her hands.

Quinn smiled gently at this, realizing now that she was right. Martinez was a different type of soulmate.

The older woman looked out at the sunset. "I have a feeling that her soulmate, in the traditional sense, would have wound up being a Marine." She turned to Quinn with a bright smile. "Call it a hunch."

Quinn stepped forward to be next to Martinez's mom. She limped slightly.

Mrs. Martinez didn't look away from the sunset. "Does it hurt?" She asked casually.

Quinn leaned favorably on her left leg. "Occasionally." Quinn said looking down at the prosthetic leg current without a shoe. "I didn't want to be tacky and wear one shoe." Quinn tried to ease the topic, referring to her prosthetic. Beside her, she felt Mrs. Martinez laugh. "Jess always talked about having her feet in the sand. I wanted to honor that the best I could."

Mrs. Martinez turned and smiled at her before bending down and grabbing the urn. "Thank you for coming Sargent Fabray." She spoke appreciatively.

"It's Lucy, ma'am. Always Lucy." She smiled back.

Mrs. Martinez smiled as the tears came. She remembered her daughter telling her how Quinn wasn't really "Quinn" but actually "Lucy". She hadn't understood at once but Jessica had insisted that it was "actually a super cool secret. I'm proud she trusts me with it."

"Are you ready?" Mrs. Martinez asked and she prepared to walk forward.

"Quinn looked back and saw an empty beer bottle next to hers. She smiled and looked back to Mrs. Martinez. "Yes, ma'am."

They walked with ease in both of their hearts as they spread Jessica Martinez's ashes along her favorite sunny, California beach.

**A/N: I have to study for finals, however, after this week I am finally free from classes (for a month) so please review. That's what keeps me writing. Up next, Quinn will return to Rachel because... her flight there will pick back up where they she left off with talking to Santana. **


	11. Chapter 11

**Hello everyone! I hope that you guys are doing great and all is well in your lives! New chapter, new thoughts, hopefully new reviews? A few things: Give me time to explain what is happening and what has happened. I do jump in to some stuff and I don't want you guys feeling lost. I promise it will ALL be explained. I do love my flashbacks so no worries!**

_Santana was facing the kitchen sink when Quinn walked in. The other woman seemed far off, in her own world. Quinn cleared her throat and leaned against the kitchen bar. Santana snapped out of her daze and turned to Quinn with sadness on her face. "What happened?" _

_Quinn cleared her throat. "Well we went to the park- "She tried._

_"__No, Quinn." Santana stopped her. "What happened there?" Santana motioned in a random direction. _

_Quinn sighed, folding her arms across her chest. "Nothing good."_

_"__No shit." Santana said. "You got really fucked up over there. Now you're back." She looked Quinn up and down. "Well clearly not all back."_

_Quinn frowned in anger. "I didn't come in here to be insulted." Quinn began to turn to walk away. _

_Santana rushed forward. "Wait!" She grabbed Quinn by the arm and when she felt the soldier tense up, she released it. Quinn turned to look at her with a blank expression. "Look… I heard you talking to Rachel the other night." She paused. "That Marine you knew." _

_Quinn clenched her jaw. "And?" _

_Santana rubbed her neck. "Well, I don't know, does that kind of stuff happen a lot?" Santana was never very good with her feelings._

_"__What? Do you mean did a lot of people die?" Quinn was frustrated easily lately. "Yes. They are still dying." Quinn began to raise her voice. "I'm standing comfy in New York City and my brothers and sisters are over there dying, Santana!" _

_Santana watched the vein in Quinn's neck stick out. "Easy, Fabray." She motioned to the seat at the kitchen bar. Quinn took it and Santana knelt and took Quinn's hands. "Rachel's right. We're all going to help you get through this."_

_Quinn smiled at Santana, "Thank you."_

Quinn burst awake in panic. She heard a driver blasting a horn outside and she quickly remembered she was in a hotel room. In New York City. She had arrived earlier that night but decided that she would wait to go to her friends shared apartment. She had continuously ignored their letters and calls and the closer she got to New York, the more she regretted it.

The walk to the shared apartment was longer than Quinn remembered. She had to consider that she only had one "real" leg left. The other one felt mostly useless. She had promised her physical therapist that she would keep up on her exercises and take it easy on doing too much walking or strenuous activity in a day. So, Quinn took the elevator up instead of the stairs and was grateful for that decision because her leg was already getting sore.

She limped mostly to the door she had gotten so used to over her time spent their and quickly realized she may have wanted to call before. To make sure they weren't busy or any other situation that may have come up. Her last time at their apartment had not been her fondest memory and she wasn't sure if Rachel even wanted to see her. In fact, Rachel had made it clear that she hadn't wanted to see her again for a while, that she had been stressing her out too much. Quinn sighed at this memory. Things happened in the heat of the moment, but when Rachel didn't answer her calls when she returned overseas or send her mail she began to worry. Brittany and Santana tried to stay strong for her but eventually Quinn could tell they were getting tired too. Once she got shot and lost her leg, she stopped responding. She didn't talk to her mom much except a few words, she was certain that her mom probably informed her friends of what had happened.

Quinn decided to get it over with and pounded on the door three times. The sound of feet rushing to the door caught her attention. Her heart was beating faster now, she wasn't sure what she would say if Rachel answered.

Luckily, Santana spared her from that worry. The Latina wrenched the door open and was about to spew several profanities before her jaw dropped. Quinn smiled, "Hey, Santana." She looked down and saw the girl was only wearing underwear. Quinn rose her eyebrow, "Am I interrupting?"

Santana closed her mouth and stepped forward, grabbing Quinn by the arms and dragging her inside. Quinn frowned at her strange behavior.

"Who is it, San?" Brittany came around the corner. She, too, stopped in her tracks. "San?" Brittany asked, not taking her eyes from Quinn. Then Brittany sprinted to Quinn throwing her whole body into her. Quinn fell against the wall, the door still being open, Santana grabbed her right arm, keeping her upright. Brittany was sobbing and her words were so garbled with her tears that Quinn just kept repeating "It's okay, B."

After about five minutes, the sobbing turned to whimpering. "Hey babe, maybe we should let Quinn sit down?" Santana spoke up.

Brittany looked into Quinn's eyes as she pulled herself away from the soldier. "I missed you." She turned and walked over to a new couch that was in the room the door opened into.

While Brittany cleared the couch, Santana grabbed Quinn and hugged her. She continued holding her while Quinn grabbed her back, squeezing her eyes shut. She wasn't sure how long they stood like that, but when they broke apart, there was three tea glasses sitting on the new coffee table and sandwiches as well. Santana smiled. "What the hell happened to you?"

Quinn leaned on her left leg and frowned, "Could we sit down." She motioned to her right "leg". "I'm getting sore."

Santana looked at her in confusion but led her to the couch without question. There was a love seat facing slightly towards the couch. Santana moved it slightly so it was facing the couch more and offered it to Quinn. "Thanks." She replied nervously.

Brittany couldn't keep her eyes off Quinn, Santana was staring at the tea. "Where did you go?" Santana said, meeting her eyes. "You just stopped talking to us. We had to call your mom and get some girl named Sasha to talk to us." Santana sighed and Quinn frowned. She didn't know Sasha had talked to them. Then again Quinn probably would have been mad if Sasha told her she had. "That's the only reason we had any idea what was going on with you." Santana looked torn apart. "We thought you had been killed. That girl stopped answering our calls and I was so mad. I thought you had found out and told her to stop." Santana stared at Quinn. "I was mad and I said awful things, Quinn. Then…then your mom called. She told us that your unit had come under fire and it was on the news. She got a visit from some Army people and I thought you had died." She looked to Brittany. "Then Britts grabbed the phone and Judy told her you were hurt. You'd been shot and that it was touch and go." Santana squirmed. "I don't know why I said those things about you…"

Quinn moved her chair closer, she took Santana's hands and squeezed them. Santana returned her grip. "You didn't cause anything, Santana. We just-we weren't expecting what happened to happen." Quinn tried to keep it vague.

"What did happen?" Brittany finally spoke up.

Quinn looked over at the sad girl and nudged Santana towards her. Santana pulled her into her lap. Quinn smiled at her. "I love you, B."

"I love you too, Q." Brittany's chin quivered.

Quinn looked at her softly. "I got shot a few times." Brittany curled further into Santana and cried. Quinn sat further forward and gently stroked the other blonde's leg. "It's okay, B. I'm here. Well, mostly." Quinn let out a slight laugh and Santana raised an eyebrow while Brittany sniffled.

"What do you mean?" Brittany asked, getting off of Santana and sitting in front of Quinn.

Quinn smiled sadly and pulled her pant leg up. Brittany let out a little squeak. "Oh, Quinn." Santana answered.

Brittany put her hands on the prosthetic leg. "It's cold." She looked up at Quinn. "Don't worry, they'll have robotic ones someday."

Quinn laughed. "Come here." She held her arms open for Brittany. They sat and hugged one another for a long time.

After dinner, Quinn began to help Santana pick up the plates. "So, I've wanted to ask…"

Santana placed the last dish in the sink and leaned against it. "She's not here."

Quinn stood up straighter. "What do you mean?"

Santana shook her head. "Look, we tried to stop her- "

"Where is she?" Quinn didn't wait for Santana to finish.

"Lima." Brittany chimed in as she walked into the kitchen. "She told us she couldn't handle it anymore. New York was her dream but it wasn't what she thought it was. That's what she told us." Brittany hugged Quinn and moved to Santana, pushing her out of the way so that she could clean the dishes.

"She left? For Lima?" Quinn couldn't wrap her head around it. "She wouldn't do that, I don't believe it."

Santana sat on the counter top and crunched into an apple. "Believe it, Fabray. She packed up and left us high and dry. Ever since Kurt moved in with Blaine things have been tight. Then she just leaves without warning. So, I found a better paying job and took out more loans. Hence how we can afford this place by ourselves." Santana motioned to the whole apartment. "How she treated you before you left…"

"It's fine, Santana." Quinn caught her eyes. "I've got more to think about now." Quinn looked down at her leg.

"So, you staying here?" Santana asked her. "You're more than welcome. Extra beds and all. Until you figure out what you want to do."

Quinn smiled gratefully. "I need to get home and see my mom."

"And Rachel?" Brittany asked innocently over her shoulder.

Quinn chuckled at this. "Yeah. And Rachel."

Quinn stared at Sue Sylvester as she thought about what she had just proposed.

"So, just to get this straight, which you aren't by the way." Quinn rolled her eyes at Sue's jab. "You want to coach the Cheerios? And you think going to war has qualified you?"

Quinn rolled her eyes. "I think it's more than qualified me."

"Well you thought wrong." Sue stood from her chair and walked around Quinn, studying her. "But…"

Quinn looked at her former coach. "But what?"

Sue sighed and took her seat again. "I've been needing to take a vacation." Quinn watched her glance at her sister's picture. Quinn remembered it was around this time of the year that Sue lost her sister. "As long as that sad excuse for a leg doesn't get in the way then we have a deal."

Coach Sylvester stuck out her hand. Quinn glared at her for a few more seconds before shaking her hand. "Deal."

One week back in Lima and Quinn had managed to keep herself off of everyone's radar. Her mother was of no help, first calling the Berry men in excitement after Quinn told her the plan she had. She was going to get Rachel back to New York. No matter what.

Quinn then had to call the Berry men and apologize for her mother's behavior. To her surprise the men were possibly more excited than her mother. They were giddy to hear from her and that she was there for Rachel. Quinn realized her mom must not have informed Rachel or the Berry men of what had happened to her. She had, however, found out that Rachel was the new Glee instructor. Quinn had laughed at the typical Rachel decision.

So today marked the day she would start as head coach of the Cheerios. Quinn marched into McKinley High were her head up and confidence in her step. She wore loose, dark jeans and a fitted Under Armor shirt that had Army printed across it. She was going to whip these girls into shape while she simultaneously got Rachel back to her old self.

Quinn immediately found her head Cheerio. Said cheerleader was yelling in the face of a Gleek. Call it intuition, Quinn could just tell.

"HEY!" Quinn yelled down the hallway. The Cheerio stopped and tilted her head at Quinn as she made her way down the hall. Once she stood in front of the head cheerleader she folded her arms across her chest in an authoritative stance. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Can I help you, old lady?" The blonde asked her.

Quinn narrowed her eyes. "Yeah. Where's Coach Sylvester?"

The blonde laughed. "She's on vacation." The girl looked back to the dark-haired girl she was tormenting. "Now if you don't mind…" Quinn stared at her and after a few moments the girl looked back at her. "What? Are you deaf? Get out of here!"

"Ten laps before practice starts." Quinn said to the shorter girl.

"Excuse me?" The girl stepped away, placing her hands on her hips. "What are you talking about?"

"Coach Sylvester told you her replacement for now was name Quinn Fabray." Quinn stepped forward intimidatingly. "That's me." Quinn watched the girl Swallow visibly. "What's your name?"

"Kitty." She said quickly.

"Kitty." Quinn worked the name over her tongue. "Well, Kitty, here's how things are going to work. You're going to leave the Gleeks alone. No, scratch that. You're going to leave _everyone _alone. If you don't you're off the team."

"But- "Kitty spoke up.

Quinn looked at her with a deadly glare. "NO BUTS. The only buts are going to be all your butts running laps if I hear of any sort of this," She motioned to the dark-haired girl, "behavior. Do I make myself clear?"

Kitty glared at her. "Crystal."

"Good. Get to class." Quinn saw her roll her eyes and walk off. "And tighten your pony tail!" Quinn watched her do exactly as she said.

Turning to the dark-haired girl, she smiled. "I'm sorry about them. It won't happen again. What's your name?"

"Marely ma'am." The dark-haired girl said.

"It's nice to meet you Marely. Can you tell me if Rachel Berry is the head of Glee?" Quinn asked.

Marely brightened up. "She is! She's very talented! She said she used to go here and she had to leave New York but that she followed her dreams. She always encourages us to follow ours too." Marley was clearly struck by Rachel and Quinn smiled.

"Thank you, Marely." Quinn turned and began walking towards Sue's office that was now hers.

"Don't you want to see her?" Marely called after her.

Quinn stopped. She turned and smiled, "I'm sure we'll cross paths."

"Everyone! Everyone please!" Rachel called out, collectively getting the Glee Club's attention. "Thank you." Rachel smoothed out her skirt. "As you all know we have practice tomorrow at lunch. Please bring your duets and please try to get along." Rachel looked at Marley and Kitty. She had regretted letting them choose names out of a hat that day.

"If she could keep her awkward body from crashing into mine then we'd be fine." Kitty said quietly. Her friends giggled next to her. Rachel sighed, she could relate to Marley's situation. She remembered a certain blonde that always teased her. Rachel frowned at this, not wanting to think about Quinn.

"You better watch what you say, Kitty." Marley spoke up and Rachel was shocked. The girl was always quiet. Surely, she knew the ramifications of speaking out against a Cheerio.

"What was that, freak?" Kitty walked over to Marley.

Marley didn't back down, instead she held her head high. "You heard what your coach said. You can't treat us like this anymore."

The group got quiet. Kitty glared at Marley. "We'll see how long that lasts. She'll remember what it was like having to deal with freaks like you." Kitty grabbed her bag.

"That's enough Kitty," Rachel spoke up. "If you continue acting like this then you're going to be asked not to come back." Rachel said sternly.

"Whatever." Kitty threw over her shoulder as she walked out, her minions trailing behind her.

The group exploded in conversation and Rachel could barely catch it all. Talk of the new coach was new, she didn't know that Sue had left. The students were talking about her going on a vacation. How a "hot blonde" was taking her place until she got back.

Rachel decided to turn to Marley instead. "Marley, where did you hear about this new coach?"

Marley smiled up at Rachel. "I met her today. Kitty was bugging me and she came down the hall and told her the Cheerios had to stop picking on us and everyone else."

Rachel sighed. She was certain that it was something that Sue was behind. It was too good to be true. "Are you sure she's the new Cheerio's coach?" Rachel asked Marley.

Marley nodded her head. "She said she was filling in while Coach Sylvester was gone."

"Did she tell you her name?" Rachel was hoping to get some information on this mystery woman so that she could do a little research before meeting her.

"No." Marley said, Rachel sighed at this. "She told kitty though."

Rachel perked up. "What's her name?"

Marely smiled, "She said Quinn Fabray."

Rachel felt her world spin. Her ears were ringing and her mouth ran dry. "Quinn- Quinn who?"

Marley looked at her in concern. "Are you okay?" She asked.

Rachel took a seat next to Marley. "Yes, yes I'm fine. I just- Quinn Fabray? You're sure she said that?" Marley nodded slowly. "What," Rachel cleared her throat, getting her bearings as she did so, "what- was there anything distinctive about her?"

The girl frowned. "No, not really. She had a limp but nothing else. Just blonde, I mean she's very pretty. Oh, she was wearing a shirt that said "ARMY" on it. Does that help?"

Rachel instantly lost her cool. She felt like she was going to throw up. "Yes, thank you Marley."

Rachel stood up. "Okay everyone! You know your assignments. I'll see you all tomorrow at lunch!" She heard a collective groan and watched as everyone left. Marley hung by the door for a moment before smiling and giving Rachel a small wave. Rachel returned it and once all the students were gone, she ran to her office. She paced the room and began to panic. Why the HELL was Quinn Fabray at McKinley. More importantly was how did she get the time off to come and get a job here?

While her mind raced, her phone rang. She saw her fathers' faces illuminating her screen. "Hello father." She greeted, unsure of which of the two were calling her.

Her Daddy spoke up, "Hi sweetheart! How's your day?"

Rachel sighed and sat on the corner of her office desk. "Well it was fine…"

"Oh, that's great honey!" Her Daddy replied without really listening. He was clearly up to something. "Well I have great news! As you know, Judy comes over for dinner every Monday night." Rachel could already tell what was happening and she was like a deer in headlights. "Quinn is back! Isn't that exciting? She's coming too! You both have so much to catch up on and- "Rachel moved the phone away from her ear. This. Couldn't. Be. Happening.

"I'm not going to dinner mom." Quinn said as Judy rushed around her, grabbing her purse and keys.

"Let's go!" She said cheerily, pushing Quinn as she went. Quinn groaned as Judy locked the door. "Quinn, you are no longer a child, do not behave that way." Judy licked a finger and wiped at Quinn's face.

"Mom!" Quinn fussed, trying to brush off Her mom's hand.

"Just hold still." Judy swatted her arm away. "There." She said, happy with her cleaning job. "Gorgeous as ever." She smiled lovingly at her daughter. They both stopped for a moment to just take each other in. Quinn noticed the happiness on her mother's face but she also noticed the bags under her eyes. She knew that she had been the cause. Her first day home, Judy had broken down when she showed up at the door. Judy had known of her injuries, but to see the scars and her leg gone in person was a different matter. They spent the night and next week talking as much as they could. Filling the other in on everything that had happened while they were separated. But when the suggestion of dinner came up, Quinn was less than thrilled. The last time she had spoken to Rachel, the other girl had told her that she didn't need her. She told her to leave. Rachel had been stressed but still, Quinn hadn't expected it. Rather than fighting Rachel on it, Quinn left right away, she was a coward in the moment and they both paid for it.

The drive with her mom had been nice. It was different, having her mom drive, but with no feeling in her right leg, because it was now a prosthetic, it didn't make driving safe for her. Or legal.

Quinn shifted nervously as they stood in front of the Berry residence. She was dressed in a simple blue shirt and light jeans. Judy grabbed her hand, "You'll be fine." Judy smiled at her, which Quinn returned.

Judy rang the doorbell and the Berry men immediately answered. "Judy! How are you?" The taller dark man said. A shorter white man with glasses stepped around his husband and offered his hand.

Quinn took it quickly. "Hello Mr. Berry."

He put his other hand on his chest in a swooning manner. "Such manners! I believe I'm in love." Quinn laughed at his behavior. He was an easy-going guy, she liked that in people.

The taller man turned to her then. "Hello, Quinn." He had a deeper voice.

"Sir." She smiled and nodded, taking his hand. He laughed at this and instead hugged her.

Her footing was a little off so she stumbled. "Oh! I didn't hurt you, did I?" He stepped bac, keeping his arms on her as a support.

Quinn reached down and fiddled with the prosthetic. "Not at all." She moved what was left of her leg slightly until it was more comfortable. She could feel all eyes on her and glanced up to see her mother silently communicating with them. She knew they would know about it soon, it was only right. "They don't make them like they used to, huh?" She said jokingly, hoping to get some laughs and move past it.

The Berry men laughed even though they weren't certain, clearly sparing her the attention they knew she didn't want. The darker man spoke up, Leroy, Quinn thinks. It's confirmed when her mother laughs at something the other dad says, slightly tapping him and calling him "Hiram." "Let's all get seated, shall we?"

Quinn hasn't seen Rachel yet, so she's doubting whether she'll even show up. But to her surprise, when they go into the dining room, Rachel is there, setting up plates.

"Rachel." Quinn says aloud, not meaning to. Rachel is as beautiful as Quinn remembers, possibly more so. Rachel turns to her, no smile on her face. She's wearing an offset white with a black mini skirt. Quinn trails her eyes down her impossibly long legs.

"Hello, Quinn." Rachel says, slightly shaky. Quinn is unaware of how fast Rachel's heart is beating. Rachel sees the beauty that Quinn radiates and her strong body. The tight fitting dark shirt is not helping Rachel stay calm. She clears these thoughts and looks to Quinn's mother with a smile. She loved Judy, and these dinner dates her parents were having with the older woman were more frequent then just Monday's. Rachel couldn't help but look at Judy as her mother. "Judy, it's a pleasure to see you as always." Rachel moved to hug Judy, who welcomed her with open arms.

"Oh, sweetheart, it's always such a pleasure!" Judy huggee her tightly for a few more seconds before holding her at arm's length. "You look gorgeous tonight, I must say." Judy winked before going to sit down.

Rachel blushed, she didn't want anyone to notice just how much time she put into getting ready. She made sure not a hair was out of place.

Quinn was still smiling at her, she had pulled the chair out for her mother. "Oh my." Judy fanned herself. "The royal treatment indeed!"

Quinn walked around the table and Rachel was confused. Hiram cleared his throat, he was sitting down while her dad got the refreshments around and the appetizers to start with. "Oh." Rachel looked to her seat that was across from Quinn. "Oh!" She rushed over and Quinn pulled out her seat, pushing it in as she sat down. "Thank you, Quinn." She blushed brightly. She heard Quinn hum in acknowledgement. Something caught her eye as Quinn returned to her seat. She limped as she went and Rachel stared at this motion. "Are you feeling alright?" Rachel spoke up without thinking.

Quinn sat down, raising an eyebrow as she went. "Of course, just a little stiff from my mom's car." Rachel caught Judy glance at Quinn in question. The two seemed to battle before Judy put on a fake smile. "She's used to those big trucks." Judy laughed but caught herself. "Quinn, I'm sorry."

Quinn shook her head, "It's fine mom."

Hiram joined in and Rachel couldn't find his leg to kick in order to stop him. "Am I missing something?" He asked innocently. "I don't mean to be rude- "

"Oh, goodness no, Hiram!" Judy looked at Quinn. "Quinnie lost one of her friends. They hit an IED, is that right?" Quinn nodded. "Right, they hit an IED on the way to a hospital. One of her friends didn't survive."

Rachel stared blankly, not sure how this conversation came up. "Quinn, I had no idea." Rachel spoke softly.

Quinn was upset that it was even brought up, when Rachel said that she snapped at her. "How could you have known? I was basically dead to you."

Rachel sat back and that's when her dad came in with the first part of the meal. "Who's hungry?" He asked with a huge smile. Everyone was stone faced, apart from Quinn who had a murderous look and Rachel who looked upset. "What'd I miss?"

The meal started off rocky, but Hiram knew how to fix it. He had stories and jokes that never ran out of supply. Quinn quickly turned her mood around and the dinner was wrapping up. While their parents were having wine on the porch and chatting away, Quinn helped Rachel with the dishes.

"You really don't have to help me." Rachel told her for the millionth time.

Quinn's leg was beginning to ache more but she wasn't going to leave all the cleaning up for Rachel. "It's not much, I'm only piling them in for you."

"Dishwashers are wonderful." Rachel said as she scraped the scraps of food from the plates and handed them to Quinn to be put in the dishwasher.

"It gives us a chance to talk." Quinn said.

Beside her, Rachel could feel her heart pounding in her chest. "Talk about what?"

Quinn sighed, putting the last dish away. "You know what, Rachel. New York."

Rachel took in a deep breath. "Quinn, what I said to you was wrong and- "

Quinn stopped her. "No, that's not what I mean. Rachel, why did you leave?"

It was Rachel's turn to sigh. "I've talked about this a million times, Quinn. It's pointless to get into this." Rachel began tidying the kitchen.

"Did you do it because you were afraid? Afraid to fail?" Quinn asked her blatantly.

Rachel turned and frowned. "No, Quinn."

"Good." Quinn followed her into the dining room where she began cleaning the table with a wet cloth. Quinn thought back to the piece of cloth tied to her arm when she was shot. She reached up and began rubbing it.

"Are you okay?" Rachel asked, looking at her arm.

"Oh, yeah, just a Charlie horse." Quinn lied.

"Here, let me look at it." Rachel walked forward.

"No!" Quinn jumped back. "No, it's fine."

Rachel's mood dropped. "I knew you were mad at me, I didn't know you were physically repulsed by me." Rachel said as she marched into the kitchen.

Quinn was quick to follow, Rachel flung the dirty cloth into the sink and headed for the stairs. "Rachel, wait." Quinn tried to stop her.

"Enjoy your evening, Quinn." Rachel called over her shoulder as she climbed the stairs. The sound of a door slamming had Quinn dropping down for a moment. She remembered where she was though, grounded herself.

Quinn made her way to the back patio where her mother and the berry men were chatting up a storm. "Oh! Quinn! I thought you and Rachel would be together." Leroy said casually.

Quinn smiled, grunting as she sat. "Are you okay, sweetie?" Judy moved to stand but Quinn held out her hand.

"I'm fine, mom. Just a little sore." Quinn smiled at her mom.

The Berry men exchanged a look. Hiram cleared his throat. "Quinn?" Quinn look up at him. "We asked your mother if there was something we should know. Don't get me wrong, it's fantastic that you're back and safe." He smiled sincerely. "However, Rachel told us how dedicated you are to the Army. Your mother said that you would tell us but she feels it's not her place." Hiram looks to Judy and smiles. "If I may ask, Quinn did you leave the military?"

Quinn laughs at his questions lightly. "No sir, I think it's more like the military leaves you. If you leave them then, well hello prison." Hiram and Leroy both laugh at this. Quinn sobers after a moment. "I was honorably discharged."

"Oh, Quinnie, don't be so vague." Judy looks to Hiram and Leroy. "Quinn received the Medal of Honor and the Purple Heart." Judy tells them.

Both men gasp and look at her in pride. "The Medal of Honor?" Leroy asks. "Did you meet the president then?"

Quinn smiles. "I haven't received it yet. There is a date later on that I will receive it."

"Well, I must say, you're quite the hero!" Hiram says. Quinn flinches, she wasn't a hero. Martinez died under her command. "But the Purple Heart…" Hiram trails off.

Quinn stands up, pulling her pant leg up as well. Leroy stares while Hiram shakes his head. "I was shot several times. The bullet that hit my leg almost tore it off. They couldn't save it." Quinn supplies.

"Quinn… I had no idea. _We_ had no idea. Does Rachel know?" Hiram asks her.

"No." Quinn says right away. "She doesn't…I don't want her to know. She has enough on her mind." Quinn looks at Leroy. "She went upstairs and I, well it hurts and I don't usually do stair, especially not that many."

Leroy nods in understanding. "Of course."

Everyone asks more questions, simpler ones. What Iraq is like and the types of local food. It's easier answering these questions. Not facing the hard ones.

Quinn has this nagging in her head though. She wishes she could have gone after Rachel. She wishes that she could've chased after her. But this time, her body physically wouldn't let her.

Later that night as Rachel is falling asleep after getting a stern talk about going up stairs and leaving her guests. Right as her eyes finally drift closed, her phone chimes, alerting her that she has a new message. Rachel stretches and blindly fumbles for her phone on her night stand. She grabs it and is blinded by the light from the screen. Rubbing at her eyes she sees a number she doesn't recognize with a message underneath.

She quickly unlocks her phone typing out:

RB (11:15): Who is this?

A response doesn't come so she locks the phone and puts it back on the night stand. Her eyes fly open in realization and she grabs her phone, sitting up and rereading the text: You should be repulsed by me.

She replies quickly tapping away.

RB (11:25): Quinn?

She saves the number under Quinn's name, already knowing.

QF (11:25): Yeah.

RB (11:25): I'm not repulsed by you. I admit I may have overreacted.

QF (11:26): Rachel, aren't you curious about how I'm here?

RB (11:26): It is strange that you have so much time off.

QF (11:28): Goodnight, Rachel.

RB (11:28): Quinn, please. Let's talk. I think that we should just get it all out right now.

QF (11:30): Not like this.

RB (11:30): Why not?

RB (11:32): Why?

RB (11:35): Quinn?

RB (11:40): Goodnight, Quinn.

Rachel stared at her phone. She thought maybe it would be easier for Quinn to tell her what was going on over text. She didn't want to admit that it would be much easier for her to say everything that she needed to say over text as well. Apparently, Quinn didn't think it was wise. Rachel was curious about how Quinn was there and how she managed to get time off. Rachel looked at her clock. It was 11:51. They had to be at the high school tomorrow. She would talk to her then, she would get her answers and she would tell Quinn what happened in New York. Probably. Maybe...Maybe later…baby steps.


	12. Chapter 12

Quinn's bad mood could be seen from the other side of the hallway if you were unlucky enough to be anywhere in her proximity. She hadn't slept well, a great bonus of her PTSD. On top of that, her leg was aching all night and continued into the morning. So as she made her way down the hallway, she scowled at anyone who she passed, including one Rachel Berry.

However, Rachel thought back to all of the times in highschool where she cowered away and let Quinn go off in the direction she was heading. Not now though, Rachel thought. They were adults, she could inquire about the other girl's mood without fear of being attacked verbally and or physically.

Rachel waited for Quinn to head into the bathroom, one that they had shared many times with these conversations.

Once inside, Rachel caught Quinn leaning heavily against the sink. She frowned at this, Quinn seemed like she was in pain. Rachel crept forward and the door managed to slam as she was coming towards Quinn. The blonde crouched and took a shooting stance, reaching for what would have been a pistol on her side.

Rachel stared at this action, unsure of what exactly to say to Quinn. She watched as the fear and confusion cleared from her eyes and then saw Quinn stumble slightly before reaching out for the sink, pulling her body to it.

Rachel stepped forward and reached out. "Don't." Quinn answered, stopping Rachel where she was.

"Quinn, I'm sorry." Rachel tried to apologize.

Quinn sighed, looking down into the empty sink. "You don't need to apologize, you didn't do anything." Quinn looked up in the mirror, making eye contact with Rachel who was now leaning against a bathroom stall behind her, worry shining in her eyes.

Rachel stepped forward slowly. "Quinn…what's going on? Why are you here." Rachel glanced around, trying to find the words. "How are you here? Aren't you supposed to be in Iraq?"

Quinn frowned. "I'm sorry to disappoint you." She looked away from Rachel and began limping towards the door.

Rachel stopped her before she could even make it halfway. "That's not what I meant and you know it Quinn."

Quinn jerked her arm away. "Do I?" She looked at Rachel in frustration. "Rachel, I don't even know you anymore."

"I don't know what you mean." Rachel asked with a raised eyebrow.

Quinn ground her teeth. "You left New York. Your dream." Rachel sighed at the familiar words, knowing the next set of words. "Why did you leave?"

"It's not your business Quinn." Rachel answered. She noticed Quinn shift back, clearly catching her message of not wanting to talk about this topic.

"You made sure nothing about you was my business." Quinn fired back.

"You know that's not true, Quinn." Rachel defensively said. "Things between us were hard. They weren't going to work."

Quinn let her jaw hang open for a minute before walking closer to Rachel. "You have no idea what hard is Rachel."

Rachel stood her ground. "No? You don't know anything that has happened in the last year of my life!" Rachel stomped her foot.

Quinn stared at the motion for a moment before looking up with sadness in her eyes. "You made it very clear that you didn't want me around. Dumping me at an airport Rachel? Things were bad for me. I was struggling but no, you needed to experience New York City, what was it? Oh yeah, "freely and try new things. New people."."

Rachel felt her heart flare. "I did it for you Quinn!"

"BULLSHIT! You did it for yourself!" Quinn and Rachel were face to face now, hot breaths hitting each other.

Rachel could feel the burning heat in her cheeks, "You told me to do what was best for me! I thought that that was it! I thought it would help you too."

Quinn shook her head slowly, closing her eyes. "I don't know." She backed away from Rachel, her limp more noticeable. "I guess, in a way it did." Quinn looked up at Rachel. "It didn't help you, or else we wouldn't be standing here."

Rachel sighed. "I think life isn't all that black and white." Rachel brushed of the invisible dirt on her dress. "Regardless, we both have different lives now." She stared at Quinn who was looking at the ground. "You have the military and whomever comes with that." Quinn let out a short laugh at that. "I'm not going back Quinn. Don't waste your time here." Rachel could see the determination burning in Quinn's eyes as she looked up at her.

"Rachel, it's where you belong." Quinn stepped towards her but this time Rachel stepped away.

"It's not Quinn. I'm sorry." Rachel smiled sadly and walked away.

Quinn stared at the doorway that Rachel left through.

"LETS GO! ARE YOU CHEERIOS OR INTERNET EXPLORER?!" Quinn yelled into the megaphone. She watched the girls do their sprints and smiled to herself. She'd never let them know how good they are, that's what drove her in high school. To be better every day.

Quinn watched as Kitty was the first to finish and she felt herself scowl as she noticed the girl stare at one of the other cheerleaders. She was going to pick her out and isolate her from the rest of the team, Quinn wouldn't have this.

"KITTY!" Kitty snapped her attention to Quinn. "FIVE LAPS! EVERYONE ELSE HIT THE SHOWERS!" She saw Kitty throw her arms up as she turned to head towards the track. "MAKE THAT TEN!" She screamed into the megaphone.

Quinn walked happily down the hall, her leg had stopped aching halfway through the day which was a huge relief. She felt the Nike sports bag bounce against her side as she went. She almost passed the auditorium but stopped when she heard crying. Quinn scrunched her eyebrows together and crept towards the doors, making her way in without making too much noise. As she approached she noticed who was crying.

"Marley?" Quinn spoke up as she approached the stage. The dark haired girl looked up in surprise.

"Miss Fabray!" Marley wiped aggressively at her tears. "I'm sorry, am I in your way?"

Quinn walked closer and then used both arms to push herself up to sit on the edge of the stage next to Marely. "Not at all." Quinn answered with a smile. "I was just on my way home when I remembered this old place." She heard Marely laugh. "Good memories." She nudged Marley. "This is where I first realized just how amazing Miss Berry is." Quinn winked at Marley.

Marley blushed. "This is where you met?"

Quinn shrugged. "In a way. It's where I saw the real her, met the real her." Quinn patted Marely on the back. "So are you going to tell me why you're in here alone?" She leaned forward and looked at Marely who tried to hide her expression. "Why you were crying?"

Marley sighed and let out a watery laugh. "It's stupid really."

"Not if it's making you feel like this." Quinn replied, she felt her sweat pants ride up on her legs as laid back to stare at the auditorium ceiling, it didn't bother her right now though, she knew Marley needed her attention more. "You know, I used to stare up at this ceiling sometimes."

"Yeah?" She watched out of the corner of her eye as Marley leaned back too.

"Yeah. I'd stare up and think about how I was going to get out of here. As far as I could go." Quinn let out a laugh and turned to look at Marley. "But, here I am."

Marley turned to her and laughed then looked back up. "Did you ever get away?"

Quinn hummed. "Too far away."

Marley sat up slowly, looking at Quinn who followed her action. "What do you mean?"

Quinn didn't look away as she answered, "I thought my solution to get away was right and quick and simple. But it hurt a lot of people. It hurt me." Marley stared at Quinn, no sure what to say. Quinn cleared her throat. "Why are you in here crying, Marley?"

Marley looked at the floor, fixing her stare on Quinn's bag. "If someone loves you, will they love all of you?"

Quinn tilted her head to the side. "What do you mean by that?"

"I….I'm seeing someone. It's a secret and they don't want to be seen with me but I can't keep doing this. I want to be happy and be an actual couple. Is that too much to ask?"

"No, it's not." Quinn hopped off the stage, landing more on her left leg. "Do what you think is best." Quinn said as she slung the bag over her shoulder. She smiled and began walking away.

As she reached for the door Marley called out, "How do I know what's best?"

Quinn smiled to herself, her back still to Marley. "You don't. but you just have to do what feels right to you."

Rachel was sitting at the chair that faced across her desk the next morning. Quinn had went to the teacher's lounge to get coffee and now she had a visitor. "Rachel." She said as a greeting as she closed the door to her office.

"You don't have to…" The door closed. "…close that." Rachel tried.

Quinn raised an eyebrow. "Because?"

Rachel blushed. "I…I was thinking if a student needs you…" Rachel trailed her excuse off.

Quinn smiled and sat behind the desk. "What can I do for you?"

"Right." Rachel cleared her throat. Marley said you gave her advice last night and it apparently "ruptured, burned, exploded, came back to life just to be cruelly ended once more." Do you care to explain?"

Quinn rolled her eyes at the typical teenage drama. "Not really." She supplied, clicking on her daily email to make sure her Cheerios were keeping their grades up. There was a new email from Daniels, she clicked on it and saw an attachment. It was a picture.

"Quinn!" Rachel spoke loudly.

Quinn jumped slightly, seeing the alarm and apology in Rachel's eyes. "Sorry, what?" Quinn said, wanting to look at the picture but knowing better than to ignore Rachel for a second time.

"I said, what do you mean "Not really?"? These are students, Quinn. You have to take this a little more seriously."

Quinn rolled her eyes. "Look, she asked what to do and I told her."

"You're not a psychologist." Rachel stated.

"No, yet I gave advice that I thought would help." Quinn replied. "They're teenagers, they need to figure these things out on their own."

Rachel stood and smoothed her skirt out. "Very well. I'm afraid that because you aren't taking this seriously I have no other choice t=but to inform Principal Figgins."

Quinn stared at her in awe. "You're serious?"

"I'm afraid so Quinn. These types of issues need to be handled by professionals."

Quinn rolled her eyes once more. "Whatever you feel you need to do Rachel."

Rachel nodded strongly while she turned on her heel and headed towards the door. When she glanced back she did a double take. Quinn was merely smirking at her. "And what is so pleasing if I may know?" Rachel asked.

Quinn shook her head while shrugging. "Nothing."

Rachel huffed and stormed out in the direction of the principal. Quinn laughed at the typical Rachel Berry attitude, before drawing her attention back to her computer screen. The picture had loaded and it was of Daniels…and the nurse from the base they both had been being treated at, Danny, who was very nice. They were both smiling brightly, the next attachment was another selfie and he was kissing her cheek softly. The last was a picture of them kissing on the lips. Quinn smiled at this, Daniels was finding happiness. The email read: "Hey Quinn, I hope you're finding everything you need and healing well. I did ask Danny out, mostly in fear that you would find me and push me off of a roof ;) He's great Quinn. He's great with the kids too, they were finally able to come and visit me. Their father is still fighting for custody, mostly to impress his new play thing. It disgusts me, they're my babies. They need a stable home, I wouldn't put anyone before them but I'm afraid that he will. I'm in rehab and it's hard but I keep going for them. For you. For Martinez. Come see me soon, unless you want me to come hunt you down. Love you."

Quinn reread the message and held back her tears. Daniels was going to get back her children, Quinn knew the fight in that woman and she knew that Daniels wouldn't stop until she had her children back in her arms. As Quinn prepared to reply she heard Principal Figgins on the intercom call for her to come to his office. She sighed and pushed away from her desk. Of course Rachel was serious.

Quinn sat in the principal's office feeling much younger. She was also very irritated as Rachel went on about how Quinn didn't need to give advice to students whose minds were still developing. Quinn rolled her eyes and watched Principal Figgins stare off, when he noticed her eye roll he cleared his throat and interrupted Rachel.

"Miss Berry, I understand what you are saying. Miss Fabray will you please refrain from giving important advice to students?"

Quinn nodded in annoyance. "Yes sir."

"Very well. There you have it Miss Berry." He nodded with a fake smile. "I am going to the teacher's lounge now that this is resolved." He stood and a flabbergasted Rachel Berry stuttered as he walked out of the office.

Quinn waited patiently as she watched Rachel's small stature shake. The brunette spun around and stared at Quinn who smiled and shrugged. Rachel narrowed her eyes and pointed at Quinn. She looked to begin to speak but instead stormed out.

This was going to be an interesting visit in Lima.


End file.
